THE  LIBRARY 

OF 
THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 

GIFT  OF 

ROBERT  MEREDITH 


MEMOIRS 


REV.  CHARLES  G.  FINNEY 


WRITTEN    BY    HIMSELF 


NEW  YORK 
FLEMING  H.   REVELL  COMPANY 


\m 


Y 


COPYRIGHT, 

THE  TRUSTEES  OF  OBERLIN  COLLEGE. 
1876. 

COPYRIGHT  RENEWED,  1908. 


PREFACE. 


author  of  the  following  narrative  sufficiently  ex 
-*-  plains  its  origin  and  purpose,  in  the  introductory 
pages.  He  left  the  manuscript  at  the  disposal  of  his 
family,  having  never  decided,  in  his  own  mind,  that  it  was 
iesirable  to  publish  it  Many  of  his  friends,  becoming 
iware  of  its  existence,  have  urged  its  publication  ;  and  his 
children,  yielding  to  the  general  demand,  have  presented 
the  manuscript  to  Oberlin  College  for  this  purpose. 

In  giving  ft  to  the  public,  it  is  manifestly  necessary  to 
present  it  essentially  as  we  find  it  No  liberties  can  be 
taken  with  it,  to  modify  views  or  statements  which  may 
sometimes  seem  extreme  or  partial,  or  even  to  subdue  a 
style,  which,  though  rugged  at  times,  is  always  dramatic  and 
forcible.  Few  men  have  better  earned  the  right  to  utter 
their  own  thoughts,  in  their  own  words.  These  thoughts  and 
words  are  what  the  many  friends  of  Mr.  Finney  will  desire. 
The  only  changes  that  seemed  allowable,  were  occasional 
omissions,  to  avoid  unnecessary  repetition,  or  too  minute 
detail,  or,  at  times,  references  that  might  seem  too  distinctly 
personal.  The  narrative  is,  in  its  very  nature,  personal, 
involving  the  experiences  both  of  the  author  and  of  those 
with  whom  be  had  to  do  ,  and  to  these  personal  experiences 


IV  PREFACE. 

it,  in  great  part,  owes  its  interest  and  its  value.  As  ihe 
narrative  presents  the  memories  and  heart-yearnings  of  a 
veteran  pastor,  with  a  passion  for  winning  souls,  it  is  hoped 
and  believed  that,  in  its  personal  references,  it  will  not  be 
regarded  as  having  transcended  the  limits  of  Christian  pro 
priety.  For  the  most  part,  the  lapse  of  time  seta  aside  all 
question. 

Here  and  there  perhaps,  the  statements  in  the  narrative 
may  seem  inadequate,  as  involving  only  a  partial  view  of 
facts.  It  will  be  remembered  that  such  partial  views  belong 
to  all  personal  observation  and  opinion,  and  each  one  wil' 
naturally  supply  the  correction  that  seems  to  be  demanded. 

J    BL  F 

O»3aaLin  OOLLJBGK,  January,  1S7& 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  L 

BIRTH   AND   EARLY   BDUOA 

Purpose  of  the  Author — Birth  and  early  circumstances — Want  o! 
religious  privileges — Entering  upon  the  study  of  law — First  inter 
est  in  religion — Questionings  on  the  subject  of  prayer PAGE  1 

CHAPTER  II. 

CONVERSION    TO   CHRIST. 

Decision  to  attend  to  religion— Spiritual  conflict,  and  the  triumph— 
Baptism  of  the  Spirit— Sense  of  justification IS 

CHAPTER  IIL 

BEGINNING   OP   HIS   WORK. 

A  retainer  from  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ — Call  to  preach — Conversation 
with  neighbors — Evening  meeting — Revival  in  the  village — Visit 

at  his  father's — Deacon  M at  the  monthly  concert — Conversion 

of  Squire  W . — Morning  prayer-meeting — Great  light — Fasting 

and  prayer — Experience  of  the  burden  of  prayer 24 

CHAPTER  IV. 

HIS   DOCTRINAL   EDUCATION   AND   OTHER   EXPERIENCES 
AT   ADAMS. 

Discussion  on  the  atonement — Revival  revived — Further  discussion — 

Encouragement  from  Elder  H . — Lectures  on  Universalism — 

Licensed   by  presbytery — Father  Nash — Review    of   Mr.  Gale's 
theology 49 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

PREACHING   AS   A    MISSIONARY. 

Labor  at  ,r*n«'  Mills — The  people  pledged — Experience  of  Mis* 
€K  -The  railer's  death— The  false  hope— The  Unive  realist 

•s    -««ted — Father     Nash's     transformation — Mr.     D 'B     COB- 

-nwio* .....    PAGE  61 

CHAPTER  VI. 

REVIVAL  AT  EVANS*   MILLS  AND   ITS   RESULTS. 

The  German  church — Meeting  for  inquirers — Taught  to  read — Moving 
•oeue — Habit  of  testifying  in  prayer-meeting — Style  of  preaching 
—Preaching  at  presbytery 78 

CHAPTER  VII. 

REMARKS   UPON   MINISTERIAL   EDUCATION. 

The  judge's  view — Criticisms   of  ministers — The  preacher's   aim — 

Danger  in  the  schools — Advantages  of  extemporaneous  preaching 

Manner  of  preparation — Fac-simile  of  skeleton  , 85 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

REVIVAL   AT  ANTWERP. 

impression  of  the  place — Prayer  on  Saturday — Plain   preaching  on 
Sabbath— Scene  at  Sodom— Preaching  to  the  Universaliats— Ser- 
on  election — Cure  of  insane  woman  . .  ,    . ,  W 


CHAPTER  IX. 

RETURN  TO   EVANS*   MILLft. 

Author's  marriage — Return  to  his  work — Winter  at  Brownville — Con 

version  of  Mrs.  B . — Attempt  to  return  for  his  wife — Stopped 

at  Le  Rayville — Premonition  of  a  work  at  Gouverneur — The  vain 
voting  woman  converted , ......  11! 


GONTJ&N'lb.  fll 

CHAPTER  X. 

REVIVAL  AT  GOUVERNEUR. 

Rid*  in  the  rain— Discussion  with  Dr.  S .—Opposition  »f  young 

men — Father  Nash's  announcement — Conversion  of  Mr.  S . — 

Opposition   of    Baptists — Discussion  of    Baptism — Aunt   Lucy's 
wlie*— Conversion  of  Mr.  M PAGE  113 

CHAPTER  XL 

REVIVAL   AT    DB    KALB. 

Presbyterians  "  falling,"— Visit  of  Mr.  F .—The  Catholic  tailor- 
Elder  S 's  new  light — Effect  upon  the  meeting — Going  to 

Synod— Meeting  with  Mr.  Gale— Spirit  of  prayer 136 

CHAPTER  XII. 

REVIVAL  AT  WESTERN. 

The  Western  revivals — Afternoon  prayer-meeting — Praying  of  Mrs. 
H . — Conversion  of  the  B children — The  home  of  a  con 
victed  daughter — The  hay- loft — Adaptation  of  religious  labor — 
Mr.  Gale's  new  views  and  experience 144 

CHAPTER  XIIL 

REVIVAL   AT   ROME. 

Remarkable  inquiry  meeting — Great  interest— Little  H and  her 

father — Death  of  a  reviler — Conversion  of  Mr.  H . — Visit  of 

Sheriff  B , — The  spirit  of  prayer — Conversion  of  the  officer's 

wife— Conversion  of  Mrs.  G 158 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

REVIVAL  AT  UTICA. 

Ifamdant  prayer — Conversion  of  Sheriff  B . — The  Lowville  mer 
chant — Beginning  of  opposition — Mr.  Weeks'  doctrines — Sudden 

death  of  the  minister— Conversion  of  Miss  F T .—Scent 

in  the  factory— Conversion  of  T  D.  Weld— False  teaching ... .   175 


fll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

REVIVAL  AT   AUBURN   IN    18W. 

Farther  opposition — Victory  in  prayer — Dr.  S 's  new  baptism — Oon 

version  of  Mr.  H . — Division  of  the  congregation — Dr.  Lansing's 

painful  experience — Public  confession PAGE  193 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

BEVr^AL  AT  TROY,    AND   AT  NEW  LEBANON. 

Visit  to  Dr.  Nettleton — Influence  of  the  opposition — Dr.  Beman  before 

presbytery — Con  version  of  Judge  C 's  father — Conversion  of 

Miss    S . — The    work   at  New  Lebanon — Conversion   of  Dr. 

W ,  of  Mr.  T ,  and  of  John  T.  A. very — Committee  of  presby 

tery — New  Lebanon  Convention — Notice  of  Dr.  Beeclier's  Biog 
raphy — Remarks  on  Revivals 302 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

REVIVAL  IN   STEPHENTOWN. 

Anxiety  of  Miss  8 . — Election  evening — Family  of  Judge  P . 

and  of    Mr.  M .—Death  of    Mr.    B .—Influence  of  Miss 

8 226 

CHAPTER  XVIIL 

REVIVALS  AT   WILMINGTON   AND   PHILADELPHIA. 

Bdr  Gilbert — New-  School  preaching  and  its  effect — Beginning  in  Phil 
adelphia— Theology  at  Philadelphia — H  op  kinsi  an  ism  — Conver 
sion  of  a  desperate  man — Of  a  despairing  young  woman — Fondness 
for  dress — Interest  among  the  lumbermen — Mr.  Patterson. . . .  234 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

REVIVAL  AT   READING,    PENNSYLVANIA. 

Unsound  teaching — Arrangement  for  balls — Inquiry  meeting — Death 

of  Dr.  Qreer — Conviction  of  Mr.  B .  — False  counsel  to  inquirer! 

—Conversion  of  Mr.  O'B .  —His  death— Preaching  to  the  edi 

tors — Labor  at  Lancaster — Conversion  of  Elder  K -.  — Fatal 

delay 5W? 


OOKTBKT8.  U 

CHAPTER   XX 

JIEVIVAL  IK  COLUMBIA,    AND   IK   KBW   YOBK  CITY. 

Account  of  Mr.  H .  — Reorganization  of  his  church — Invitation  to 

New  York — Anson  G.  Phelps — Diligence  of  a  young  woman  in 
restitution — Conversion  of  Lewis  Tappan — The  first  Free  Presby 
terian  church PAGE  272 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

KBTIVAL  IK   ROCHESTBB,    1880. 

Selection  of  a  field — Adjustment  of  differences — Conversion  of  Mrs. 

M .  —"The  Anxious  Seat'— Panic  in  church— Work  in  the 

High  School — Conversion  of  the  merchant  and  his  wife — Con 
version  of  Mr.  P .  — The  burden  of  prayer — Effect  upon  the 

morals  of  the  city— Effect  abroad 384 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

REVIVALS  IK  AUBUBK,   BUFFALO,    PBOVIDBKCE,    AKD 
B08TOK. 

Leaving  Rochester — Rest  at   Auburn,   and   remarkable  invitation — 
Abel  Clary — Six  weeks'  labor — A  month  in  Buffalo — Conversion 

of  Mr.  H .  — Three  weeks  in  Providence — Conversion  of  Mis* 

A .  — Invitation  to  Boston — Sensitiveness  of  the  people — Giv 

ing  up  all  to  God — Orthodoxy  questioned — Proposal  from  New 
York 302 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

LABORS  IK   KBW   YOBK   CITY   IK  1888,   AKD  OKWARD. 

Chatham   street  theatre — Installation — The  Cholera — The  revival- 
Diligence  of  the  membership — Conversion  of  Mr    H .  — The 

free  Presbyterian  churches — Organization  of  a  Congregational 
church — Broadway  Tabernacle — Voyage  to  the  Mediterranean— 
A  day  of  prayer  at  sea — The  New  York  Evangelist — Excite 
ment  on  slavery — Revival  Lectures— Invitation  to  Oberlin— 
Decision . .  .  iOC 


ooxrnm 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

MARLY  LABORS  IN  OBERLIN. 

I*he  t«nt— Financial  failure — Hostility  of  the  surrounding  region— 
Embassy  to  England — Providential  supply — Lectures  to  Christians 
in  New  York — Relations  to  Western  Reserve  College — Thea 
logical  prejudice — Popular  idea  of  Oberlin — Spiritual  progress 
athome PAGE  38€ 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

LABORS   IN   BOSTON   AND   PROVIDENCE. 

General  excitement  upon  slavery — Marlborough  chapel — A  few  weeks 
preaching  in  Boston— Call  to  Providence— Two  months,  labor 
there— Interest  of  Rev.  Dr.  C 352 

CHAPTER  XXVL 

THS   REVIVAL   IN   ROCHESTER   IN    1848. 

Rest  in  Rochester,  and  invitation  to  preach — Lawyers'  request  for  a 

course   of   Lectures — Judge   G 's   conversion — Pastor    of    St. 

Luke's — The   quit-claim  deed — Doctrines  preached — Interest   in 
lawyers — Chronic  scepticism—- Mr.  W the  priest 868 

CHAPTER  XXVIL 

ANOTHER   WINTER   IN   BOSTON. 

Second- Adventtam — The  church  in  Marlborough  Chapel — A  false  pro 
phet — A  chapter  of  personal  experience — A  new  consecration- 
Experiences  in  connection  with  the  death  of  Mrs.  F . — Experi 

not  appreciated — Need  in  Boston 870 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

FIRST  VISIT  TO   ENGLAND. 

Hr  Potto  Brown  and  his  religious  enterprises — Invitation  to  Englanu 
— Labors  in  Houghton — Invitation  to  Birmingham — Interview  a. 
Mr.  James' — Close  Communion — Theology  and  Dr.  Redford — In 
toresting  letter — Preaching  at  Worcester — Invitation  to  London 
-Dr.  Campbell  and  the  Tabernacle 38* 


OONTENTb.  » 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

ULBORS   IN  THE  TABERNACLE,    MOORFIBLD8,    LONDON. 

First  inquiry  meeting — Large  attendance — Visit  at  the  British  school 
room  —Definite  aim  in  preaching — The  borrowed  sermon — Interest 
in  Episcopal  churches — A  tea-meeting  for  poor  women — Visit  tc 
France— Embarking  for  home  PAGE  402 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

LABORS   IN    HARTFORD   AND   IN   SYRACUSE. 

Brief  labor  in  New  York— Invitation  to  Hartford— Difficulty  of  codp 
eration  among  the  pastors,  adjusted — Timidity  in  regard  tc 
measures — Prayer-meetings  among  converts — Organized  effort — 
The  churches  in  Syracuse — Cooperation  of  Christians — Interest 

ing  communion — Mrs.  C 's  new  baptism — Ladies'  meetings— 

«  Taking  up  the  Croes  "—Mother  Austin's  faith 415 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

LABORS   IN   WESTERN   AND    IN    RO 

Case  of  crime — Confession  and  restitution — Conversion  of  the  school 
teacher — Preaching  at  Rome — Distraction  in  the  church 438 

CHAPTER  XXXIL 

REVIVAL  IN   ROCHESTER  IN   185ft. 

Pressing  invitation — Preaching  to  the  lawyers — Prevailing  interest— 
The  University — Zeal  of  the  ladies — Ingenuous  spirit — Bestric 
tions  in  New  England 483 

CHAPTER  XXXIIL 

R1VIVALS   IN   BOSTON   IN  1856-57-68. 

The  pastor's  renewal — Divided  feeling — Establishment  of  prayer-meet- 
ingrs — The  South — Conversion  of  Mrs.  M . .  441 


«u 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

SECOND   VISIT  TO   ENGLAND, 

Labors  at  St.  Ives  —  Borough  Road  cnapel  —  Church  distraction  and 
regeneration  —  Theological  apprehensions  —  Reasoning  in  the  pul 
pit—Labors  at  Huntington—  Family  of  Dr.  F  -  .....  PAGE  448 

JHAPTER  XXXV. 

LABORS   IN    ENGLAND   AND   SCOTLAND. 

Preaching  in  Edinburgh  —  TheE.  U.  Church  —  The  ladies'  prayer-meev 
ing  —  Preaching  in  Aberdeen  —  Circumscribing  prejudice  —  Going  to 
Bolton,  England  —  First  evening  at  Bolton  —  The  week  of  prayer  — 
Co-operation  of  denominations  —  Canvassing  the  city  —  A  more 
quiet  manner  —  Work  in  Mr.  B  -  's  mill  —  Cases  of  restitution  — 
Conversion  of  the  miserly  mill-owner  —  Labors  in  Manchester 
—Want  of  co-operation  —  Return  home  ...........  .  .........  456 

CHAPTER  XXXVL 

WORK    AT   HOME. 

Arrangements  for  labor  —  General  movement  —  Failing  health  —  Diver'/ 
ing  influences  —  The  time  for  work  —  Improved  arrangements- 
Solemn  Sabbath  —  Conclusion  ......  ,  „  ....................  47J 


MEMOIRS 


CHARLES    G.  FINNEY. 


CHAPTER  1. 

BIRTH    AND    EARLY   EDUCATIOX. 

IT  has  pleased  God  in  some  measure  to  connect  my  name 
and  labors  with  an  extensive  movement  of  the  church 
of  Christ,  regarded  by  some  as  a  new  era  in  its  progress, 
especially  in  relation  to  revivals  of  religion.  As  this  move 
ment  involved,  to  a  considerable  extent,  the  development 
of  views  of  Christian  doctrine  which  had  not  been  common, 
and  was  brought  about  by  changes  in  the  means  of  carrying 
forward  the  work  of  evangelization,  it  was  very  natural  that 
some  misapprehension  should  prevail  in  regard  to  these 
modified  statements  of  doctrine,  and  the  use  of  these  meas 
ures  ;  and  consequently  that,  to  some  extent,  even  good  men 
should  call  in  question  the  wisdom  of  these  measures  and 
the  soundness  of  these  theological  statements  ;  and  that  un 
godly  men  should  be  irritated,  and  for  a  Ume  should  stren 
uously  oppose  these  great  movements. 

I  have  spoken  of  myself  as  connected  with  these  move 
ments  ;  but  only  as  one  of  the  many  ministers  and  other 
servants  of  Christ,  who  have  shared  prominently  in  promot 
ing  them.     I  am  aware  that  by  a  certain  portion  of  the  - 
church  I  have  been  considered  an  innovator,  both  in  regard     \ 
to  doctrine  and  measures  ;  and  that  many  have  looked  upon 


2  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   «*. 

me  as  rather  prominent,  especially  in  assailing  some  of  the 
old  forms  of  theological  thought  and  expression,  and  in 
stating  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  in  many  respects  in  new 
language. 

I  have  been  particularly  importuned,  for  a  number  of 
y?*a-s,  by  the  friends  of  those  revivals  with  which  my  name 
anr*  labors  have  been  connected,  to  write  a  history  of  them. 
As  so  much  misapprehension  has  prevailed  respecting  them, 
it  i*  thought  that  the  truth  of  history  demands  a  statement 
from  mvself  of  the  doctrines  that  were  preached,  so  far  as  I 
was  concerned  ;  of  the  measures  used,  and  of  the  results  of 
preaching  those  doctrines  and  the  use  of  those  measures. 

My  mind  seems  instinctively  to  recoil  from  saying  so 
much  of  myself  as  I  shall  be  obliged  to  do,  if  I  speak  hon 
estly  of  those  revivals  and  of  my  relation  to  them.  For  this 
reason  I  have  declined,  up  to  this  time,  to  undertake  such  a 
work.  Of  late  the  trustees  of  Oberlin  College  have  laid  the 
matter  before  me,  and  urged  me  to  undertake  it.  They,  to 
gether  with  numerous  other  friends  in  this  country  and  in 
England,  have  urged  that  it  was  due  to  the  cause  of  Christ, 
that  a  better  understanding  should  exist  in  the  church  that 
has  hitherto  existed,  in  regard  especially  to  the  revivals  that 
occurred  in  central  New  York  and  elsewhere,  from  1821  and 
onward  for  several  years,  because  those  revivals  have  been 
most  misrepresented  and  opposed. 

I  approach  the  subject,  I  must  say,  with  reluctance,  for 
many  reasons.  I  have  kept  no  diary,  and  consequently 
must  depend  on  my  memory.  It  is  true,  that  my  memory 
is  naturally  very  tenacious,  and  the  events  that  I  have  wit 
nessed  in  revivals  of  religion  have  made  a  very  deep  impres 
sion  on  my  mind  ;  and  I  remember,  with  great  distinctness, 
many  more  than  I  shall  have  time  to  communicate.  Every 
one  who  has  witnessed  powerful  revivals  of  religion  is  awar« 
that  many  cases  of  conviction  and  conversion  are  daily 
occurring,  of  the  greatest  interest  to  the  people  in  the  midst 
of  whom  thev  occur.  Where  all  the  facts  and  circumstances 


ttlRTH   AtfD   EARLY   EDUCATION. 


are  known,  a  thrilling  effect  is  often  produced  ;  and  such 
cases  are  frequently  so  numerous  that  if  all  the  highly  inter 
esting  facts  of  even  one  extended  revival,  in  a  single  locality, 
should  be  narrated,  it  would  fill  a  large  volume. 

1  do  not  propose  to  pursue  this  course  in  what  I  am 
about  to  write.  I  shall  only  sketch  such  an  outline  as  will, 
upon  the  whole,  give  a  tolerably  clear  idea  of  the  type 
which  these  revivals  took  on  ;  and  shall  only  relate  a  few 
of  the  particular  instances  of  conversion  which  occurred  in 
different  places. 

I  shall  also  endeavor  to  give  such  an  account  of  the  doc 
trines  which  were  preached,  and  of  the  measures  which 
were  used,  and  shall  mention  such  facts,  in  general,  as  will 
enable  the  church  hereafter,  partially  at  least,  to  estimate 
the  power  and  purity  of  those  great  works  of  God. 

But  I  hesitate  to  write  a  narrative  of  those  revivals, 
oecause  I  have  often  been  surprised  to  find  how  much  my 
own  remembrance  of  facts  differs  from  the  recollection  of 
other  persons  who  were  in  the  midst  of  those  scenes.  Of 
course  I  must  state  the  facts  as  I  remember  them.  A  great 
many  of  those  events  have  been  often  referred  to  by  myself 
in  preaching,  as  illustrative  of  the  truths  that  I  was  present- 
ag  to  the  people.  I  have  been  so  often  reminded  of  them, 
and  have  so  often  referred  to  them  in  all  the  years  of  my 
ministry,  that  I  cannot  but  have  strong  confidence  that  I 
remember  them  substantially  as  they  occurred.  If  I  shall 
in  any  case  misstate  the  facts,  or  if  in  any  case  my  recollec 
tions  shall  differ  widely  from  those  of  others,  I  trust  that  the 
church  will  believe  that  my  statements  are  in  entire  accord 
ance  with  my  present  remembrance  of  those  facts.  I  am  \*> 
now  (1867-  68)  seventy  -five  years  old.  Of  course,  I  remember  » 
things  that  transpired  many  years  ago  more  definitely  than 
those  of  recent  occurrence.  In  regard  to  the  doctrines 
preached,  so  far  as  I  was  concerned,  and  the  means  used  to 
promote  the  revivals,  I  think  I  cannot  be  mistaken. 

mi  give  any  intelligible  account  of  the  part  which  I  was 


*  MEMOIRS   OF  CHARLES   Ct.    FltfKEY 

called  to  act  in  those  scenes,  it  is  necessary  that  I  should 
giye  a  little  history  of  the  manner  in  which  I  came  to  adopt 
the  doctrinal  views  which  I  have  long  held  and  preached, 
and  which  have  been  regarded  by  many  persons  as  ob 
jectionable. 

I  must  commence  by  giving  a  very  brief  account  of  mj 
birth,  and  early  circumstances  and  education,  my  conversion 
to  Christ,  my  study  of  theology,  and  my  entering  upon  the 
work  of  the  ministry.  I  am  not  about  to  write  an  autobio 
graphy,  let  it  be  remembered ;  and  shall  enter  no  farther 
:nto  a  relation  of  the  events  of  my  own  private  life  than 
shall  seem  necessary  to  give  an  intelligible  account  of  the 
manner  in  which  I  was  led,  in  relation  to  these  great  move 
ments  of  the  church. 

I  was  born  in  Warren,  Litchfield  county,  Connecticut, 
August  29, 1792.  When  I  was  about  two  years  old,  my  father 
removed  to  Oneida  county,  New  York,  which  was,  at  that 
time,  to  a  great  extent,  a  wilderness.  No  religious  privileges 
were  enjoyed  by  the  people.  Very  few  religious  books  were 
to  be  had.  The  new  settlers,  being  mostly  from  New  England, 
almost  immediately  established  common  schools  ;  but  they 
had  among  them  very  little  intelligent  preaching  of  the 
Gospel.  I  enjoyed  the  privileges  of  a  common  school,  sum 
mer  and  winter,  until  I  was  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  old,  I 
oelieve ;  and  advanced  so  far  as  to  be  supposed  capable  of 
teaching  a  common  school  myself,  as  common  schools  were 
then  conducted. 

My  parents  were  neither  of  them  professors  of  religion, 
and,  I  believe,  among  our  neighbors  there  were  very  few 
eligious  people.  I  seldom  heard  a  sermon,  unless  it  was  an 
cwscasional  one  from  some  travelling  minister,  or  some  miser 
able  holding  forth  of  an  ignorant  preacher  who  would  some 
times  be  found  in  that  country.  I  recollect  very  well  that 
the  ignorance  of  the  preachers  that  I  heard  was  such,  that 
the  people  would  return  from  meeting  and  spend  a  consider 
able  time  in  irrepressible  laughter  at  the  strange  mistakes 


BIETH   AJSD   EAELY    EDUCATION.  0 

which  h&d  been  made  and  the  absurdities  which  had  been 
advanced. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  my  father's  residence  we  had 
just  erected  a  meeting-house  and  settled  a  minister,  when 
my  father  was  induced  to  remove  again  into  the  wilderness 
skirting  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  a  little  south 
of  Sackett's  Harbor.  Here  again  I  lived  for  several  years, 
enjoying  no  better  religious  privileges  than  I  had  in  Oneida 
county. 

When  about  twenty  years  old  1  returned  to  Connecticut, 
and  from  thence  went  to  New  Jersey,  near  New  York  city, 
and  engaged  in  teaching.  1  taught  and  studied  as  best  1 
could  ;  and  twice  returned  to  New  England  and  attended  a 
high  school  for  a  season.  While  attending  the  high  school 
I  meditated  going  to  Yale  College.  My  preceptor  wab  a 
graduate  of  Yale,  but  he  advised  me  not  to  go.  He  said  it 
would  be  a  loss  of  time,  as  I  could  easily  accomplish  the 
whole  curriculum  of  study  pursued  at  that  institution,  in 
two  years ;  whereas  it  would  cost  me  four  years  to  graduate. 


knowledge  of  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew.  But  I  was  never 
a  classical  scholar,  and  never  possessed  so  much  knowledge 
of  the  ancient  languages  as  to  think  myself  capable  of  inde 
pendently  criticising  our  English  translation  of  the  Bible. 

The  teacher  to  whom  I  have  referred,  wished  me  to  join 
him  in  conducting  an  academy  in  one  of  the  Southern  States 
I  was  inclined  to  accept  his  proposal,  with  the  design  of  pur 
suing  and  completing  my  studies  under  his  instruction.  But 
when  I  informed  my  parents,  whom  I  had  not  seen  for  four 
years,  of  my  contemplated  movement  south,  they  both  came 
immediately  after  me,  and  prevailed  on  me  to  go  home  with 
them  to  Jefferson  county,  New  York.  After  making  them  a 
viait,  I  concluded  to  enter,  as  a  student,  the  law  office  oi 
Squire  W ,  at  Adams,  in  that  county.  This  was  in  181& 


6  MEMOIRS   OF    CHARLES    G. 

Up  to  this  time  I  had  never  enjoyed  what  might  b* 
called  religious  privileges.  I  had  never  lived  in  a  praying 
community,  except  during  the  periods  when  I  was  attending 
the  high  school  in  New  England ;  and  the  religion  in  that 
place  was  of  a  type  not  at  all  calculated  to  arrest  my  atten 
tion.  The  preaching  was  by  an  aged  clergyman,  an  excellent 
man,  and  greatly  beloved  and  venerated  by  his  people  ;  but 
he  read  his  sermons  in  a  manner  that  left  no  impression 
whatever  on  my  mind.  He  had  a  monotonous,  humdrum 
way  of  reading  what  he  had  probably  written  many  years 
before. 

To  give  some  idea  of  his  preaching,  let  me  say  that  his 
manuscript  sermons  were  just  large  enough  to  put  into  a 
small  Bible.  I  sat  in  the  gallery,  and  observed  that  he 
placed  his  manuscript  in  the  middle  of  his  Bible,  and  in 
serted  his  fingers  at  the  places  where  were  to  be  found  the 
passages  of  Scripture  to  be  quoted  in  the  reading  of  his  ser 
mon.  This  made  it  necessary  to  hold  his  Bible  in  both 
hands,  and  rendered  all  gesticulation  with  his  hands  impossi 
ble.  As  he  proceeded  he  would  read  the  passages  of  Scrip 
ture  where  his  fingers  were  inserted,  and  thus  liberate  one 
finger  after  another  until  the  fingers  of  both  hands  were  read 
out  of  their  places.  When  his  fingers  were  all  read  out,  he 
was  near  the  close  of  the  sermon.  His  reading  was  altogether 
unimpassioned  and  monotonous  ;  and  although  the  people 
attended  very  closely  and  reverentially  to  his  reading,  yet,  1 
must  confess,  it  was  to  me  not  much  like  preaching. 

When  we  retired  from  meeting,  I  often  heard  the  peoplf 
speak  well  of  his  sermons  ;  and  sometimes  they  won  c 
wonder  whether  he  had  intended  any  allusion,  in  what  he 
said,  to  what  was  occurring  among  them.  It  seemed  to  be 
always  a  matter  of  curiosity  to  know  what  he  was  aiming  at 
especially  if  there  was  anything  more  in  his  sermon  than  a 
dry  discussion  of  doctrine.  And  this  was  really  quite  as 
good  preaching  as  1  had  ever  listened  to  in  any  place.  But 
any  one  can  judge  whether  such  preaching  was  calculated 


BIRTH   AND    EAELY   EDUCATION.  7 

to  instruct  or  interest  a  young  man  who  neither  knew  noi 
cared  anything  about  religion. 

When  I  was  teaching  school  in  New  Jersey,  the  preach 
ing  in  the  neighborhood  was  chiefly  in  German,  I  do  not 
think  I  heard  half  a  dozen  sermons  in  English  during  my 
whole  stay  in  New  Jersey,  which  was  about  three  years. 

Thus  when  I  went  to  Adams  to  study  law,  I  was  almost 
as  ignorant  of  religion  as  a  heathen.  I  had  been  brougnt 
up  mostly  in  the  woods.  I  had  very  little  regard  to  the  Sab 
bath,  and  had  no  definite  knowledge  of  religious  truth. 

At  Adams,  for  the  first  time,  I  sat  statedly,  for  a  length  of  , 
time,  under  an  educated  ministry.  Rev.  George  W.  Gale,  from 
Princeton,  New  Jersey,  became,  soon  after  I  went  there,  pastor 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  that  place.  His  preaching  was 
of  the  old  school  type  ;  that  is,  it  was  thoroughly  Oalvinistic  ; 
and  whenever  he  came  out  with  the  doctrines,  which  he  seldom 
did,  he  would  preach  what  has  been  called  hyper-calvinism.  V 
He  was,  of  course,  regarded  as  highly  orthodox  ;  but  I  was 
not  able  to  gain  very  much  instruction  from  his  preaching. 
As  I  sometimes  told  him,  he  seemed  to  me  to  begin  in  the  mid 
dle  of  his  discourse,  and  to  assume  many  things  which  to  my 
mind  needed  to  be  proved.  He  seemed  to  take  it  for  granted 
that  his  hearers  were  theologians,  and  therefore  that  he 
might  assume  all  the  great  and  fundamental  doctrines  ol 
the  Gospel.  But  I  must  say  that  I  was  rather  perplexed 
than  edified  by  his  preaching. 

I  had  never,  until  this  time,  lived  where  I  could  attend 
a  stated  prayer  meeting.  As  one  was  held  by  the  church 
near  our  office  every  week,  I  used  to  attend  and  listen  tc 
the  prayers,  as  often  as  I  could  be  excused  from  business 
at  that  hour. 

In  studying  elementary  law,  I  found  the  old  authors  fre 
quently  quoting  the  Scriptures,  and  referring  especially  to 
the  Mosaic  Institutes,  as  authority  for  many  of  the  great 
principles  of  common  law.  This  excited  my  curiosity  so 
much  that  I  went  and  purchased  a  Bible,  the  first  I  had 


»  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G.    FOOTEY. 

ever  owned  ;  and  whenever  I  found  a  reference  by  the  la^t 
authors  to  the  Bible,  I  turned  to  the  passage  and  consulted 
it  in  its  connection.  This  soon  led  to  my  taking  a  neiff 
interest  in  the  Bible,  and  I  read  and  meditated  on  it  much 
more  than  I  had  ever  done  before  in  my  life.  However, 
much  of  it  I  did  not  understand. 

Mr.  Gale  was  in  the  habit  of  dropping  in  at  our  office 
frequently,  and  seemed  anxious  to  know  what  impression 
his  sermons  had  made  on  my  mind.  I  used  to  converse 
with  him  freely  ;  and  I  now  think  that  I  sometimes  criticised 
his  sermons  unmercifully.  I  raised  such  objections  against 
his  positions  as  forced  themselves  upon  my  attention. 

In  conversing  with  him  and  asking  him  questions,  I  per 
ceived  that  his  own  mind  was,  as  I  thought,  mystified  ;  and 
Vwthat  he  did  not  accurately  define  to  himself  what  he  meant 
*  by  many  of  the  important  terms  that  he  used.  Indeed  1 
found  it  impossible  to  attach  any  meaning  to  many  of  the 
/  terms  which  he  used  with  great  formality  and  frequency. 
What  did  he  mean  by  repentance  ?  Was  it  a  mere  ieeling 
of  sorrow  for  sin  ?  Was  it  altogether  a  passive  state  of 
mind,  or  did  it  involve  a  voluntary  element  ?  If  it  was  a 
change  of  mind,  in  what  respect  was  it  a  change  of  mind  ? 
What  did  he  mean  by  the  term  regeneration  ?  What  did 
such  language  mean  when  applied  to  a  spiritual  change  ? 
What  did  he  mean  by  faith  ?  Was  it  merely  an  intellectual 
state  ?  Was  it  merely  a  conviction,  or  persuasion,  that  the 
things  stated  in  the  Gospel  were  true  ?  What  did  he  mean 
by  sanctification  ?  Did  it  involve  any  physical  change  in 
the  subject,  or  any  physical  influence  on  the  part  of  God  F 
I  could  not  tell,  nor  did  he  seem  to  me  to  know  himself,  in 
what  sense  he  used  these  and  similar  terms. 

We  had  a  great  many  interesting  conversations  ;  but 
they  seemed  rather  to  stimulate  my  own  mind  to  inquiry 
than  to  satisfy  me  in  respect  to  the  truth. 

But  as  I  read  my  Bible  and  attended  the  prayer  meet 
ings,  heard  Mr.  Gale  preach,  and  conversed  with  him,  witfc 


BIKTH   AND   EARLY   EDUCATION.  9 

the  elders  of  the  church,  and  with  others  from  time  to  time, 
J  became  very  restless.  A  little  consideration  convinced  me 
that  I  was  by  no  means  in  a  state  of  mind  to  go  to  heaven  if 
I  should  die.  It  seemed  to  me  that  there  must  be  some* 
thing  in  religion  that  was  of  infinite  importance ;  and  it 
was  soon  settled  with  me,  that  if  the  soul  was  immortal  I 
needed  a  great  change  in  my  inward  state  to  be  prepared 
for  happiness  in  heaven.  But  still  iny  mind  was  not  made 
up  as  to  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  the  Gospel  and  of  the 
Christian  religion.  The  question,  however,  was  of  too 
much  importance  to  allow  me  to  rest  in  any  uncertainty  on 
the  subject. 

I  was  particularly  struck  with  the  fact  that  the  prayers 
that  I  had  listened  to,  from  week  to  week,  were  not,  that 
I  could  see,  answered.  Indeed,  I  understood  from  their 
utterances  in  prayer,  and  from  other  remarks  in  their  meet 
ings,  that  those  who  offered  them  did  not  regard  them  as 
answered. 

When  I  read  my  Bible  I  learned  what  Christ  had  said  in 
regard  to  prayer,  and  answers  to  prayer.  He  had  sj*i^ 
"  Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive,  seek  and  ye  shall  find,  knock 
and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you.  For  every  one  that  asketh 
receiveth,  and  he  that  seeketh  findeth,  and  to  him  that 
knocketh  it  shall  be  opened."  I  read  also  what  Christ 
affirms,  that  God  is  more  willing  to  give  his  Holy  Spirit  to 
them  that  ask  him,  than  earthly  parents  are  to  give  good 
gifts  to  their  children.  I  heard  them  pray  continually  for 
the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  as  often  confess  that 
they  did  not  receive  what  they  asked  for. 

They  exhorted  each  other  to  wake  up  and  oe  engaged, 
and  to  pray  earnestly  for  a  revival  of  religion,  asserting  that 
if  they  did  their  duty,  prayed  for  the  outpouring  of  the 
Spirit,  and  were  in  earnest,  that  the  Spirit  of  God  would  be 
poured  out,  that  they  would  have  a  revival  of  religion,  ane! 
that  the  impenitent  would  be  converted.  But  in  their 
prayor  and  conference  meeting's  thev  would  continually  COD- 
1* 


10  MEMOIKS    OF   CHARLES    G. 

fess,  substantially,  that  they  were  making  no  progress  in 
securing  a  revival  of  religion. 

This  inconsistency,  the  fact  that  they  prayed  so  much 
and  were  not  answered,  was  a  sad  stumbling-block  to  me. 
I  knew  not  what  to  make  of  it.  It  was  a  question  in  my 
mind  whether  I  was  to  understand  that  these  persons  were 
not  truly  Christians,  and  therefore  did  not  prevail  with 
God  ;  or  did  I  misunderstand  the  promises  and  teachings  of 
the  Bible  on  this  subject,  or  was  I  to  conclude  that  the 
Bible  was  not  true  ?  Here  was  something  inexplicable  to 
me  ;  and  it  seemed,  at  one  time,  that  it  would  almost  drive 
me  into  sceptiuan.  It  seemed  to  me  that  the  teachings  oi 
the  Bible  did  not  at  all  accord  with  the  facts  which  were 
before  my  eyes. 

On  one  occasion,  when  I  was  in  one  of  the  prayer-mee:- 
ings,  I  was  asked  if  I  did  not  desire  that  they  should  pray 
for  me.  I  told  them,  no ;  because  I  did  not  see  that  God 
answered  their  prayers.  I  said,  "I  suppose  I  n -.-•<:•/?  to  be 
prayed  for,  for  I  am  conscious  that  I  am  a  sinner  ;  cut  I  do 
not  see  that  it  will  do  any  good  for  you  to  pray  for  me  ;  for 
you  are  continually  asking,  but  you  do  not  receive.  You 
have  been  praying  for  a  revival  of  religion  ever  since  I  have 
been  in  Adams,  and  yet  you  have  it  not.  Yon  have  been 
praying  for  the  Holy  Spirit  to  descend  upon  yourselves,  and 
yet  complaining  of  your  leanness."  I  recollect  having  used 
this  expression  at  that  time:  "You  have  prayed  enough 
since  I  have  attended  these  meetings  to  have  prayed  thf 
devil  out  of  Adams,  if  there  is  any  virtue  in  your  prayers. 
But  here  you  are  praying  on,  and  complaining  stilL"  I  was 
e\  quite  in  earnest  in  what  I  said,  and  not  a  little  irri table,  I 
think,  in  consequence  of  my  being  brought  so  continually 
r  face  to  face  with  religious  truth  ;  which  was  a  new  state  of 
things  to  me. 

But  on  farther  reading  of  my  Bible,  it  struck  me  that  the 
reason  why  their  prayers  were  not  answered,  was  because  they 

lid  not  comply  with  the  revealed  conditions  upon  which 

• 


BIRTH   AND   EARLY    EDUCATION.  I) 

God  had  promised  to  answer  prayer ;  that  they  did  not 
pray  in  faith,  in  the  sense  of  expecting  God  to  give  them  the 
things  that  they  asked  for. 

This  thought,  for  some  time,  lay  in  my  mind  as  a  con 
fused  questioning,  rather  than  in  any  definite  form  thai 
could  be  stated  in  words.  However,  this  relieved  me,  so  far 
as  queries  about  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  were  concerned , 
and  after  struggling  in  that  way  for  some  two  or  three 
years,  my  mind  became  quite  settled  that  whatever  mystifi 
cation  there  might  be  either  in  my  own  or  in  my  pastor's 
mind,  or  in  the  mind  of  the  cuurch,  the  Bible  was,  never 
theless,  the  true  word  of  God. 

This  being  settled,  I  was  brought  face  to  face  with  the 
question  whether  I  would  accept  Christ  as  printed  in  the 
Gospel,  or  pursue  a  worldly  course  of  life.  At  this  period, 
my  mind,  as  I  have  since  known,  was  so  much  impressed  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  that  I  could  not  lonp  leave  this  question 
unsettled  ;  nor  could  I  long  hesitate  between  the  two  courses 
of  life  presented  to  me. 


CHAPTER  II. 

COKVBK8ION    TO   CHSI8T. 

ON  a  Sabbath  evening  in  the  autnmn  of  1821,  I  matte 
tip  my  mind  that  I  would  settle  the  question  of  my 
soul's  salvation  at  once,  thar  if  it  were  possible  I  would 
make  my  peace  with  God.  Bt  as  I  was  very  busy  in  the 
affairs  of  the  office,  I  knew  that  without  great  firmness  of 
purpose,  I  should  never  effectually  attend  to  the  subject.  I 
therefore,  then  and  there  resolved,  as  far  as  possible,  to  avoid 
all  business,  and  everything  that  would  divert  my  attention, 
and  to  give  myself  wholly  to  the  work  of  securing  the  salvation 
of  my  soul.  I  carried  this  resolution  into  execution  as  sternly 
and  thoroughly  as  I  could.  I  was,  however,  obliged  to  be  a 
good  deal  in  the  office.  But  as  the  providence  of  God  would 
have  it,  I  was  not  much  occupied  either  on  Monday  or  Tues 
day  ;  and  had  opportunity  to  read  my  Bible  and  engage  IE 
prayer  most  of  the  time. 

But  I  was  very  proud  without  knowing  it.  I  had  sup 
posed  that  I  had  not  much  regard  for  the  opinions  of  others, 
whether  they  thought  this  or  that  in  regard  to  myself  ;  and 
1  had  in  fact  been  quite  singular  in  attending  prayer  meet 
ings,  and  in  the  degree  of  attention  that  I  had  paid  to  relig 
ion,  while  in  Adams.  In  this  respect  I  had  been  so  singular 
as  to  lead  the  church  at  times  to  think  that  I  must  be  an 
anxious  inquirer.  But  I  found,  when  I  came  to  face  the 
question,  that  I  was  very  unwilling  to  have  any  one  know 
that  I  was  seeking  the  salvation  of  my  soul.  When  I  prayed 
I  would  only  whisper  my  prayer,  after  having  stopped  the 
key-hole  to  the  door,  lest  some  one  should  discover  that  1 
was  engaged  in  praver.  Before  that  time  I  had  my  Bibl« 


OOHTEBSIOIT   TO    CHRIST.  13 

lying  on  the  table  with  the  law-books ;  and  it  never  had 
occurred  to  me  to  be  ashamed  of  being  found  reading  it,  any 
more  than  I  should  be  ashamed  of  being  found  reading  any  of 
my  other  books. 

But  after  I  had  addressed  myself  in  earnest  to  the  subject 
af  my  own  salvation,  I  kept  my  Bible,  as  much  as  I  could,  out 
of  sight.  If  1  was  reading  it  when  anybody  came  in,  I  would 
throw  my  law-books  upon  it,  to  create  the  impression  that  I 
had  not  had  it  in  my  hand.  Instead  of  being  outspoken 
and  willing  to  talk  with  anybody  and  everybody  on  the  sub 
ject  as  before,  I  found  myself  unwilling  to  converse  with 
anybody.  I  did  not  want  to  see  my  minister,  because  I  did 
not  want  to  let  him  know  how  I  felt,  and  I  had  no  confidence 
that  he  would  understand  my  case,  and  give  me  the  direction 
that  I  needed.  For  the  same  reasons  I  avoided  conversation 
with  the  elders  of  the  church,  or  with  any  of  the  Christian 
people.  I  was  ashamed  to  let  them  know  how  I  felt,  on  the 
one  hand  ;  and  on  the  other,  I  was  afraid  they  would  mis 
direct  me.  I  felt  myself  shut  up  to  the  Bible. 

During  Monday  and  Tuesday  my  convictions  increased  ; 
but  still  it  seemed  as  if  my  heart  grew  harder.  I  could  not 
shed  a  tear  ;  I  could  not  pray.  I  had  no  opportunity  to 
pray  above  my  breath  ;  and  frequently  I  felt,  tii&e  if  1  could 
be  alone  where  1  could  use  my  voice  and  let  myself  out,  I 
should  find  relief  in  prayer.  I  was  shy,  and  avoided,  as 
much  as  I  could,  speaking  to  anybody  on  any  subject.  I 
endeavored,  however,  to  do  this  in  a  way  that  would  excite 
no  suspicion,  in  any  mind,  that  I  was  seeking  the  salvation  of 
my  soul. 

Tuesday  night  I  had  become  very  nervous  ;  and  in  the 
night  a  strange  feeling  came  over  me  as  if  I  was  about  to 
die,  I  knew  that  if  I  did  I  should  sink  down  to  hell ;  but 
I  quieted  myself  as  best  I  could  until  morning. 

At  an  early  hour  I  started  for  the  office.  But  just  be 
fore  I  arrived  at  the  office,  something  seemed  to  confront 
me  with  question*  like  these :  indeed,  it  seemed  as  if  th<= 


- 


14  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLfiS   G.    FINKEY. 

inquiry  was  within  myself,  as  if  an  inward  voice  said  to 
me,  "What  are  you  waiting  for  ?  Did  you  not  promise  to 
give  your  heart  to  God  ?  and  what  are  you  trying  to  do  ? 
Are  you  endeam  <-g  to  work  out  a  righteousness  of  your 
own?" 

Just  at  this  point  tht  whole  question  of  Gospel  saiyatioii 
opened  to  my  mind  in  a  manner  most  marvellous  to  me  at 
the  time.  I  think  I  then  saw,  as  clearly  as  I  ever  have  iu 
my  life,  the  reality  and  fulness  of  the  atonement  of  Christ. 
I  saw  that  his  work  was  a  finished  worK  ;  and  that  instead 
of  having,  or  needing,  any  righteousness  of  my  own  to  re 
commend  me  to  God,  I  had  to  submit  myself  to  the  right 
eousness  of  God  through  Christ.  Gospel  salvation  seemed  to 
me  to  be  an  offer  of  something  lo  be  accepted  ;  and  that  it 
was  full  and  complete  ;  and  that  all  that  was  necessary  on 
my  part,  was  to  get  my  own  consent  to  give  up  my  ship,  and 
accept  Christ.  Salvation,  it  seemed  to  me,  instead  of  being 
a  thing  to  be  wrought  out,  by  my  own  works,  was  a  thing 
v  to  be  found  entirely  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  pre 
sented  himself  before  me  as  my  God  and  my  Saviour. 

Without  being  distinctly  aware  of  it,  I  had  stopped  in 
the  street  right  where  the  inward  voice  seemed  to  arrest  me. 
How  long  I  remained  in  that  position  I  cannot  say.  But 
after  this  distinct  revelation  had  stood  for  some  little  time 
before  iny  mind,  the  question  seemed  to  be  put,  "  Will  you 
accept  it  now,  to-day  ?  "  I  replied,  "  Yes  ;  I  will  accept  it 
to-day,  or  I  will  die  in  the  attempt " 

North  of  the  village,  and  over  a  hill,  lay  a  piece  of  woodsy 
in  which  I  was  in  the  almost  daily  habit  of  walking,  more 
or  less,  when  it  was  pleasant  weather.  It  was  now  October, 
and  the  time  was  past  for  my  frequent  walks  there.  Never 
theless,  instead  of  going  to  the  office,  I  turned  and  bent  my 
course  toward  the  woods,  feeling  that  I  must  be  alone,  and 
away  from  all  human  eyes  and  ears,  so  that  I  could  pom 
out  my  prayer  to  God. 

But  still  my  pride  must  show  itself.     As  I  went 


CONVERSION  TO   CHRIST.  15 

the  hill,  it  occurred  to  me  that  some  one  might  see 
me  and  suppose  that  I  was  going  away  to  pray.  Yet 
probably  there  was  not  a  person  on  earth  that  would 
have  suspected  such  a  thing,  had  he  seen  me  going.  But  so 
great  was  my  pride,  and  so  much  w^  I  possessed  with  the 
fear  of  man,  that  I  recollect  that  I  skulked  along  under  the 
fence,  till  I  got  so  far  out  of  sight  that  no  one  from  the  vil 
lage  could  see  me.  I  then  penetrated  into  the  woods,  I 
should  think,  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  went  over  on  the  other 
side  of  the  hill,  and  found  a  place  where  some  large  trees 
had  fallen  across  each  other,  leaving  an  open  place  between. 
There  I  saw  I  could  make  a  kind  of  closet.  I  crept  into 
fchis  place  and  knelt  down  for  prayer.  As  I  turned  to  go 
up  into  the  woods,  I  recollect  to  have  said,  "  I  will  give  my 
heart  to  God,  or  I  never  will  come  down  from  there."  1 
recollect  repeating  this  as  I  went  up — "  I  will  give  my  heart 
to  God  before  I  ever  come  down  again." 

But  when  I  attempted  to  pray  I  found  that  my  heart 
would  not  pray.  I  had  supposed  that  if  I  could  only  be 
where  I  could  speak  aloud,  without  being  overheard,  I  :.*rald 
pray  freely.  But  lo  !  when  I  came  to  try,  I  was  dumb  ; 
that  is,  I  had  nothing  to  say  to  God  ;  or  at  least  I  could  say 
but  a  few  words,  and  those  without  heart.  In  attempting 
to  pray  I  would  hear  a  rustling  in  the  leaves,  as  I  thought, 
and  would  stop  and  look  up  to  see  if  somebody  were  not 
coming.  This  I  did  several  times. 

Finally  I  found  myself  verging  fast  to  despair.  I 
said  to  myself,  "  I  cannot  pray.  My  heart  is  dead  to  God, 
and  will  not  pray."  I  then  reproached  myself  for  having 
promised  to  give  my  heart  to  God  before  I  left  the  woods. 
When  I  came  to  try,  I  found  I  could  not  give  my  heart  to 
God.  My  inward  soul  hung  back,  and  there  was  no  going 
out  of  my  heart  to  God.  I  began  to  feel  deeply  that  it  was 
too  late  ;  that  it  must  be  that  I  was  given  up  of  God  and  was 
past  hope. 

The  thought  was  pressing  me  of  the   rashness  of  my 


16  MEMOIRS   OF  CHARLES   G.    FI1TNEY. 

promise,  that  I  would  give  my  heart  to  God  that  day  or  die 
in  the  attempt.  It  seemed  to  me  as  if  that  was  binding 
upon  my  soul ;  and  yet  I  was  going  to  break  my  vow.  A 
great  sinking  an(f.  discouragement  came  over  me,  and  I  felt 
almost  too  weak  to  stand  upon  my  knees. 

Just  at  this  moment  I  again  thought  I  heard  some  one 
approach  me,  and  I  opened  my  eyes  to  see  whether  it  were 
so.  But  right  there  ^he  revelation  of  my  pride  of  heart,  as 
the  great  difficulty  that  stood  in  the  way,  was  distinctly 
shown  to  me.  An  overwhelming  sense  of  my  wickedness  in 
being  ashamed  to  have  a  human  being  see  me  on  my  knees 
before  Gou,  took  such  powerful  possession  of  me,  that  I  cried 
at  the  top  of  my  voice,  and  exclaimed  that  I  would  not  leave 
that  place  if  all  the  men  on  earth  and  all  the  devils  in  hell 
surrounded  me.  "  What ! "  *  said,  "  such  a  degraded  sin 
ner  as  I  am,  on  my  knees  confessing  my  sins  to  the  great  and 
noly  God  ;  and  ashamed  to  have  any  human  being,  and  a 
sinner  like  myself,  find  me  on  my  knees  endeavoring  to  make 
my  peace  with  my  offended  God ! "  The  sin  appeared 
awful,  infinite.  It  broke  me  down  before  the  Lord. 

Just  at  that  point  this  passage  of  Scripture  seemed  to 
drop  into  my  mind  with  a  flood  of  light  :  "Then  shall  ye 
go  and  pray  unto  me,  and  I  will  hearken  unto  you.  Then 
shall  ye  seek  me  and  find  me,  when  ye  shall  search  for  me 
with  all  your  heart."  I  instantly  seized  hold  of  this  with 
my  heart.  I  had  intellectually  believed  the  Bible  before  ; 
but  never  had  the  truth  been  in  my  mind  that  faith  was  a 
voluntary  trust  instead  of  an  intellectual  state.  I  was  as 
conscious  as  I  was  of  my  existence,  of  trusting  at  that 
moment  in  God's  veracity.  Somehow  I  knew  that  that  was 
A  passage  of  Scripture,  though  I  do  not  think  I  had  ever 
read  it.  I  knew  that  it  was  God's  word,  and  God's  voice, 
as  it  were,  that  spoke  to  me.  I  cried  to  Him,  "  Lord,  I  take 
thee  at  thy  word.  Now  thou  knowest  that  I  do  search  for 
thee  with  all  my  heart,  and  that  I  have  come  here  to  praj 
to  tbee  ;  and  thou  hast  promised  to  hear  me." 


CONVERSION   TO   CHRIST.  17 

That  seemed  to  settle  the  question  that  I  could  then, 
that  day,  perform  my  vow.  The  Spirit  seemed  to  lay  stress 
apon  that  idea  in  the  text,  "  When  you  search  for  me  witl 
all  your  heart."  The  question  of  when,  that  is  of  the  present 
time,  seemed  to  fall  heavily  into  my  heart.  I  told  the  J<ord 
that  I  should  take  him  at  his  word  ;  that  he  could  not  lie  . 
and  that  therefore  I  was  sure  that  he  heard  my  prayer,  and 
that  he  would  be  found  of  me. 

He  then  gave  me  many  other  promises,  both  from  the  Old 
and  the  New  Testament,  especially  some  most  precious 
promises  respecting  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  I  never  can,  in 
words,  make  any  human  being  understand  how  precious 
and  true  those  promises  appeared  to  me.  I  took  them  one 
after  the  other  as  infallible  truth,  the  assertions  of  God  who 
could  not  lie.  They  did  not  seem  so  much  to  fall  into  my 
intellect  as  into  my  heart,  to  be  put  within  the  grasp  of  the 
voluntary  powers  of  my  mind  ;  and  I  seized  hold  of  them, 
appropriated  them,  and  fastened  upon  them  with  the  grasp 
of  a  drowning  man. 

I  continued  thus  to  pray,  and  to  receive  and  appropriate 
promises  for  a  long  time,  I  know  not  how  long.  I  prayed  till 
my  mind  became  so  full  that,  before  I  was  aware  of  it,  I  was 
on  my  feet  and  tripping  up  the  ascent  toward  the  road. 
The  question  of  my  being  converted,  had  not  so  much  as 
drisen  to  my  thought ;  but  as  I  went  up,  brushing  through 
the  leaves  and  bushes,  I  recollect  saying  with  great  emphasis, 
"If  I  am  ever  converted,  I  will  preach  the  Gospel." 

I  soon  reached  the  road  that  led  to  the  village,  and  begar- 
to  reflect  upon  what  had  passed  ;  and  I  found  that  my  mine 
had  become  most  wonderfully  quiet  and  peaceful.  I  said  to 
myself.  "  What  is  this  ?  I  must  have  grieved  the  Holy 
Ghost  entirely  away.  I  have  lost  all  my  conviction.  I  have 
not  a  particle  of  concern  about  my  soul ;  and  it  must  be 
that  the  Spirit  has  left  me."  "Why!"  thought  I,  "1 
never  was  so  far  from  being  concerned  about  my  own  salva 
tion  in  mv  life." 


irf  MEMOIRS   OP   CHARLES   G. 

Then  I  remembered  what  I  had  said  to  God  while  I  was  OK 
my  knees — that  I  had  said  I  would  take  him  at  his  word  ; 
and  indeed  I  recollected  a  good  many  things  that  1  had  said, 
and  concluded  that  it  was  no  wonder  that  the  Spirit  had  left 
me ;  that  for  such  a  sinner  as  I  was  to  take  hold  of  God'e 
word  in  that  way,  was  presumption  if  not  blasphemy.  1 
concluded  that  in  my  excitement  I  had  grieved  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  perhaps  Committed  the  unpardonable  sin. 

I  walked  quietly  toward  the  village  ;  and  so  perfectly 
quiet  was  my  mind  that  it  seemed  as  if  all  nature  listened. 
It  was  on  the  10th  of  October,  and  a  very  pleasant  day.  I 
had  gone  into  the  woods  immediately  after  an  early  break 
fast  ;  and  when  I  returned  to  the  village  I  found  it  wus  din 
ner  time.  Yet  I  had  been  wholly  unconscious  oi  the  time 
that  had  passed  ;  it  appeared  to  me  that  I  had  beer  £onf 
from  the  village  but  a  short  time. 

But  how  was  I  to  account  for  the  quie..  of  my  mind  ?  j 
tried  to  recall  my  convictions,  to  get  back  again  the  load  of 
sin  under  which  I  had  been  laboring.  But  all  sense  of  sin, 
all  consciousness  of  present  sin  or  guilt,  had  departed  from 
me.  I  said  to  myself,  "  What  is  this,  that  I  cannot  arouse 
any  sense  of  guilt  in  my  soul,  as  great  a  sinner  as  I  am  ?  "  I 
tried  in  vain  to  make  myself  anxious  about  my  present  state. 
I  was  so  quiet  and  peaceful  that  I  tried  to  feel  concerned 
about  that,  lest  it  should  be  a  result  of  my  having  grieved 
the  Spirit  away.  But  take  any  view  of  it  I  would,  I  could 
not  be  anxious  at  all  about  my  soul,  and  about  my  spiritual 
state.  The  repose  of  my  mind  was  unspeakably  great.  I 
never  can  describe  it  in  words.  The  thought  of  God  was 
sweet  to  my  mind,  and  the  most  profound  spiritual  tran 
quillity  had  taken  full  possession  of  me.  This  was  a  great 
mystery ;  but  it  did  not  distress  or  perplex  me. 

I  went  to  my  dinner  and  found  I  had  no  appetite  to  eat.  1 

then  went  to  the  office,  and  found  that  Squire  W had  gone 

to  dinner.  I  took  down  my  bass-viol,  and,  as  I  was  .iccustomed 
try  do,  t^egan  to  play  and  sing:  some  pieces  of  sacred  music 


CONVERSION   TO   CHEI8T.  19 

But  as  soon  as  I  began  to  sing  those  sacred  words,  I  began  tc 
weep.  It  seemed  as  if  my  heart  was  all  liquid  ;  and  my 
feelings  were  in  such  a  state  that  I  could  not  hear  my  own 
voice  in  singing  without  causing  my  sensibility  to  overflow. 
I  wondered  at  this,  and  tried  to  suppress  my  tears,  but 
could  not.  After  trying  in  vain  to  suppress  my  tears,  I  put 
up  my  instrument  and  stopped  singing. 

After  dinner  we  were  engaged  in  removing  our  books 
and  furniture  to  another  office.  We  were  very  busy  in  this, 
and  had  but  little  conversation  all  the  afternoon.  My  mind, 
however,  remained  in  that  profoundly  tranquil  state.  There 
was  a  great  sweetness  and  tenderness  in  rny  thoughts  and 
feelings.  Everything  appeared  to  be  going  right,  and 
nothing  seemed  to  ruffle  or  disturb  rne  in  the  least. 

Just  before  evening  the  thought  took  possession  of  my 
mind,  that  as  soon  as  I  was  left  alone  in  the  new  office,  I 
would  try  to  pray  again — that  I  was  not  going  to  abandon 
the  subject  of  religion  and  give  it  up,  at  any  rate  ;  and 
therefore,  although  I  no  longer  had  any  concern  about  my 
soul,  still  I  would  continue  to  pray. 

By  evening  we  got  the  books  and  furniture  adjusted  : 
and  I  made  up,  in  an  open  fire-place,  a  good  fire,  hoping  to 

spend  the  evening  alone.  Just  at  dark  Squire  W ,  seeing 

that  everything  was  adjusted,  bade  me  good-night  and  went 
co  his  home.  I  had  accompanied  him  to  the  door  ;  and  as 
I  closed  the  door  and  turned  around,  my  heart  seemed  to 
be  liquid  within  me.  All  my  feelings  seemed  to  rise  and 
fl.ow  out ;  and  the  utterance  of  my  heart  was,  "  I  want  to 
pour  my  whole  soul  out  to  God."  The  rising  of  my  SOCL 
was  so  great  that  I  rushed  into  the  room  back  of  the  front 
office,  to  pray. 

There  was  no  fire,  and  no  light,  in  the  room  ;  neverthe 
less  it  appeared  to  me  as  if  it  were  perfectly  light.  As  I 
went  in  and  shut  the  door  after  me,  it  seemed  as  if  I  met 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  face  to  face.  It  did  not  occur  to  me 
then,  nor  did  it  for  some  time  afterward,  that  it  was  wholh 


20  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G. 

a  mental  state.  On  the  contrary  it  seemed  to  me  that  1 
saw  him  as  I  would  see  any  other  man.  He  said  nothing, 
but  looked  at  me  in  such  a  manner  as  to  break  me  right 
down  at  his  feet.  I  have  always  since  regarded  this  as  ft 
most  remarkable  state  of  mind  ;  for  it  seemed  to  me  a  real 
ity,  that  he  stood  before  me,  and  I  fell  down  at  his  feet  anc 
poured  out  my  soul  to  him.  I  wept  aloud  like  a  child,  and 
made  such  confessions  as  I  could  with  my  choked  utterance. 
It  seemed  to  me  that  I  bathed  his  feet  with  my  tears ;  and 
yet  I  had  no  distinct  impression  that  I  touched  him,  that  I 
recollect. 

I  must  have  continued  in  this  state  for  a  good  while  ; 
but  my  mind  was  too  much  absorbed  with  the  interview  to 
recollect  anything  that  I  said.  But  I  know,  as  soon  as  my 
mind  became  calm  enough  to  break  off  from  the  interview, 
I  returned  to  the  front  office,  and  found  that  the  fire  that  I 
had  made  of  large  wood  was  nearly  burned  out.  But  as  1 
turned  and  was  about  to  take  a  seat  by  the  fire,  I  received  a 
mighty  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Without  any  expec 
tation  of  it,  without  ever  having  the  thought  in  my  mind 
that  there  was  any  such  thing  for  me,  without  any  recollec 
tion  that  I  had  ever  heard  the  thing  mentioned  by  any  per 
son  in  the  world,  the  Holy  Spirit  descended  upon  me  in  a 
manner  that  seemed  to  go  through  me,  body  and  soul.  I 
could  feel  the  impression,  like  a  wave  of  electricity,  going 
through  and  through  me.  Indeed  it  seemed  to  come  in 
waves  and  waves  of  liquid  love  ;  for  I  could  not  express  it  iu 
any  other  way.  It  seemed  like  the  very  breath  of  God.  1 
can  recollect  distinctly  that  it  seemed  to  fan  me,  like  im 
mense  wings. 

No  words  can  express  the  wonderful  love  that  was  shed 
abroad  in  my  heart.  I  wept  aloud  with  joy  and  love  ;  and 
I  do  not  know  but  I  should  say,  I  literally  bellowed  out  the 
unutterable  gushings  of  my  heart.  These  waves  came  over 
me,  and  over  me,  and  over  me,  one  after  the  other,  until  ] 
^collect  I  cried  out,  •'  I  shall  die  if  these  waves  continue  t# 


COBTVEKSION    TO   CHRIS1.  21 

pass  over  me."    I  said,  "  Lord,  I  cannot  bear  any  more  ;* 
yet  I  had  no  fear  of  death. 

How  long  I  continued  in  this  state,  with  this  baptism 
continuing  to  roll  over  me  and  go  through  me,  I  do  not 
know.  But  I  know  it  was  late  in  the  evening  when  a  mem 
ber  of  my  choir — for  I  was  the  leader  of  the  choir — came 
into  the  office  to  see  me.  He  was  a  member  of  the  church. 
He  found  me  in  this  state  of  loud  weeping,  and  said  to  me, 
"  Mr.  Finney,  what  ails  you  ?  "  I  could  make  him  no  an 
swer  for  some  time.  He  then  said,  "  Are  you  in  pain  ?"  I 
gathered  myself  up  as  best  I  could,  and  replied,  "  No,  but 
so  happy  that  I  cannot  live." 

He  turned  and  left  the  office,  and  in  a  few  minutes  re 
turned  with  one  of  the  elders  of  the  church,  whose  shop  was 
nearly  across  the  way  from  our  office.  This  elder  was  a  verj> 
serious  man  ;  and  in  my  presence  had  been  very  watchful, 
and  I  had  scarcely  ever  seen  him  laugh.  When  he  came  in,  I 
was  very  much  in  the  state  in  which  I  was  when  the  young 
man  went  out  to  call  him.  He  asked  me  how  I  felt,  and  I 
began  to  tell  him.  Instead  of  saying  anything,  he  fell  into  a 
most  spasmodic  laughter.  It  seemed  as  if  it  was  impossible  f  01 
him  to  keep  from  laughing  from  the  very  bottom  of  his  heart. 

There  was  a  young  man  in  the  neighborhood  who  was 
preparing  for  college,  with  whom  I  had  been  very  intimate. 
Our  minister,  as  I  afterward  learned,  had  repeatedly  talked 
with  him  on  the  subject  of  religion,  and  warned  him  against 
being  misled  by  me.  He  informed  him  that  I  was  a  verj 
careless  young  man  about  religion ;  and  he  thought  that  if 
he  associated  much  with  me  his  mind  would  be  diverted,  and 
he  would  not  be  converted. 

After  I  was  converted,  and  this  young  man  was  converted, 
he  told  me  that  he  had  said  to  Mr.  Gale  several  times,  when 
he  had  admonished  him  about  associating  so  much  with  me, 
that  my  conversations  had  often  affected  him  more,  reli 
giously,  than  his  preaching.  I  had,  indeed,  let  oat  my  feel 
ings  a  good  deal  to  this  young  man. 


22  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G. 

But  just  at  the  time  when  I  was  giving  an  account  of  m} 
feelings  to  this  elder  of  the  church,  and  to  the  other  membei 
who  was  with  him,  this  young  man  came  into  the  office.  I 
was  sitting  with  my  back  toward  the  door,  and  barely  ob~ 
served  that  he  came  in.  He  listened  with  astonishment  to 
what  I  was  saying,  and  the  first  I  knew  he  partly  fell  upon 
the  floor,  and  cried  out  in  the  greatest  agony  of  mind,  "  Do 
pray  for  me  !  "  The  elder  of  the  church  and  the  other  mem 
ber  knelt  down  and  began  to  pray  for  him  ;  and  when  they 
had  prayed,  I  prayed  for  him  myself.  Soon  after  this  the^y 
all  retired  and  left  me  alone. 

The  question  then  arose  in  my  mind,  "Why  did  Elder 

B laugh  so  ?  Did  he  not  think  that  I  was  under  a 

delusion,  or  crazy  ? "  This  suggestion  brought  a  kind  ol 
darkness  over  my  mind  ;  and  I  began  to  query  with  myself 
whether  it  was  proper  for  me — such  a  sinner  as  I  had  been — 
to  pray  for  that  young  man.  A  cloud  seemed  to  shut  in 
over  me  ;  I  had  no  hold  upon  anything  in  which  I  could 
rest ;  and  after  a  little  while  I  retired  to  bed,  not  distressed 
in  mind,  but  still  at  a  loss  to  know  what  to  make  of  my  pres 
ent  state.  Notwithstanding  the  baptism  I  had  received, 
this  temptation  so  obscured  my  view  that  I  went  to  bed  with 
out  feeling  sure  that  my  peace  was  made  with  God. 

I  soon  fell  asleep,  but  almost  as  soon  awoke  again  on  ac 
count  of  the  great  flow  of  the  love  of  God  that  was  in  my 
heart.  I  was  so  filled  with  love  that  I  could  not  sleep. 
Soon  I  fell  asleep  again,  and  awoke  in  the  same  manner. 
When  I  awoke,  this  temptation  would  return  upon  me,  and 
the  love  that  seemed  to  be  in  my  heart  would  abate  ;  but  as 
soon  as  I  was  asleep,  it  was  so  warm  within  me  that  I  would 
immediately  awake.  Thus  I  continued  till,  late  at  night,  I 
obtained  some  sound  repose. 

When  I  awoke  in  the  morning  the  sun  had  risen,  and 
was  pouring  a  clear  light  into  my  room.  Words  cannot  ex 
press  the  impression  that  this  sunlight  made  upon  me.  In 
stantly  the  baptism  that  I  had  received  the  night  before. 


CONVERSION  TO   CHRIST,  23 

returned  lapon  me  in  the  same  manner.  I  arose  upon  my 
knees  in  the  bed  and  wept  aloud  with  joy,  and  remained  for 
some  time  too  much  overwhelmed  with  the  baptism  of  the 
Spirit  to  do  anything  but  pour  out  my  soul  to  God.  It 
seemed  as  if  this  morning's  baptism  was  accompanied  with  a 
gentle  reproof,  and  the  Spirit  seemed  to  say  to  me,  "  Will 
you  doubt  ?"  "  Will  you  doubt  ?  "  I  cried,  "  No  !  I  will 
not  doubt ;  I  cannot  doubt."  He  then  cleared  the  subject 
up  so  much  to  my  mind  that  it  was  in  fact  impossible  for 
me  to  doubt  that  the  Spirit  of  God  had  taken  possession  of 
my  soul. 

In  this  staj&I  was  taught  thejlocjin TIP  of  jnntifi  oration  by 
faith,  as  a  present  experience.  That  doctrine  had  never 
taken  any  such  possession  of  my  mind,  that  I  had  ever 
viewed  it  distinctly  as  a  fundamental  doctrine  of  the  Gospel. 
Indeed,  I  did  not  know  at  all  what  it  meant  in  the  proper  sense. 
But  I  could  now  see  and  understand  what  was  meant  by  the 
passage,  "  Being  justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with 
God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  I  could  see  that 
the  moment  I  believed,  while  up  in  the  woods  all  sense  of 
condemnation  had  entirely  dropped  out  of  my  mind  ;  and 
that  from  that  moment  I  could  not  feel  a  sense  of  guilt  or 
condemnation  by  any  effort  that  I  could  make.  My  sense 
of  guilt  was  gone  ;  my  sins  were  gone  ;  and  I  do  not  think 
I  felt  any  more  sense  of  guilt  than  if  I  never  had  sinned. 

This  was  just  the  revelation  that  I  needed.  I  felt  myself 
justified  by  faith  ;  and,  so  far  as  I  could  see,  I  was  in  a  state 
in  which  I  did  not  sin.  Instead  of  feeling  that  I  was  sin 
ning  all  the  time,  my  heart  was  so  full  of  love  that  it  over 
flowed.  My  cup  ran  over  with  blessing  and  with  love  ;  and 
I  could  not  feel  that  I  was  sinning  against  God.  Nor  could 
I  recover  the  least  sense  of  guilt  for  my  past  sins.  Of  this 
experience  I  said  nothing  that  I  recollect,  at  the  time,  to  any 
body  ;  that  is,  of  this  experience  of  justification. 


OHAPTER  III. 

BEGINNING   OF    HIS    WORK. 

morning,  of  which  I  have  just  spoken,  I  weai 
down  into    the   office,  and   there  I  was    having  the 
renewal  of  these  mighty  waves  of  love  and  salvation  flowing 

over  me,  when  Squire  W came  into  the  office.     I  said  a 

few  words  to  him  on  the  subject  of  his  salvation.  He  looked 
at  me  with  astonishment,  but  made  no  reply  whatever,  that  I 
recollect.  He  dropped  his  head,  and  after  standing  a  few 
Minutes  left  the  office.  I  thought  no  more  of  it  then,  but 
afterward  found  that  the  remark  I  made  pierced  him  like 
A  sword ;  and  he  did  not  recover  from  it  till  he  was  con 
verted. 

Soon  after  Mr.  W had  left  the  office,  Deacon  B 

came  into  the  office  and  said  to  me,  "  Mr.  Finney,  do  you  rec 
ollect  that  my  cause  is  to  be  tried  at  ten  o'clock  this  morn 
ing  ?  I  suppose  you  are  ready  ?  "  I  had  been  retained  to 
attend  this  suit  as  his  attorney.  I  replied  to  him,  "  Deacon 

B ,  I  have  a  retainer  from  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  plead 

his  cause,  and  I  cannot  plead  yours. "  He  looked  at  me  with 
astonishment,  and  said,  "  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  I  told  him, 
in  a  few  words,  that  I  had  enlisted  in  the  cause  of  Christ ; 
and  then  repeated  that  I  had  a  retainer  from  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  to  plead  his  cause,  and  that  he  must  go  and  get  some 
body  else  to  attend  his  law-suit ;  I  could  not  do  it.  He 
dropped  his  head,  and  without  making  any  reply,  went  out. 
A  few  moments  later,  in  passing  the  window,  I  observed  that 

Deacon  B was  standing  in  the  road,  seemingly  lost  in 

deep  meditation.  He  went  away, as  I  afterward  learned,  and 
''mmediatelv  settled  his  suit.  He  then  betook  himself  if 


BEGINNING   OF   HIS   WORK.  $5 

prayer  and  soon  got  into  a  much  higher  religious  state  than 
he  had  ever  been  in  before. 

I  soon  sallied  forth  from  the  office  to  converse  with  those 
whom  I  should  meet  about  their  souls.  I  had  the  impres 
sion,  which  has  never  left  my  mind,  that  God  wanted  me  to 
preach  the  Gospel,  and  that  I  must  begin  immediately.  I 
somehow  seemed  to  know  it.  If  you  ask  me  how  I  knew  it, 
i  cannot  tell  how  I  knew  it,  any  more  than  I  can  tell  how  1 
knew  that  that  was  the  love  of  God  and  the  baptism  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  which  I  had  received.  I  did  somehow  know 
it  with  a  certainty  that  was  past  all  possibility  of  doubt. 
And  so  I  seemed  to  know  that  the  Lord  commissioned  me 
to  preach  the  Gospel. 

When  I  was  first  convicted,  the  thought  had  occurred  to 
my  mind  that  if  I  was  ever  converted  I  should  be  obliged  to 
leave  my  profession,  of  which  I  was  very  fond,  and  go  to 
preaching  the  Gospel.  This  at  first  stumbled  me.  I  thought 
I  had  taken  too  much  pains,  and  spent  too  much  time  and 
study  in  my  profession  to  think  now  of  becoming  a  Chris 
tian,  if  by  doing  so  1  sLould  be  obliged  to  preach  the  Gospel. 
However,  I  at  last  came  to  the  conclusion  that  I  must  sub 
mit  that  question  to  God  ;  that  I  had  never  commenced  the 
study  of  law  from  any  regard  to  God,  and  that  I  had  no 
right  to  make  any  conditions  with  him  ;  and  I  therefore  had 
laid  aside  the  thought  of  becoming  a  minister,  until  it  was 
sprung  in  my  mind,  as  I  have  related,  on  my  way  from  my 
place  of  prayer  in  the  woods. 

But  now  after  receiving  these  baptisms  of  the  Spirit  I 
was  quite  willing  to  preach  the  Gospel.  Nay,  I  found  that 
I  was  unwilling  to  do  anything  else.  I  had  no  longer  any 
desire  to  practise  law.  Everything  in  that  direction  was 
shut  up,  and  had  no  longer  any  attractions  for  me  at  all.  I 
had  no  disposition  to  make  money.  I  had  no  hungering  and 
thirsting  after  worldly  pleasures  and  amusements  in  any 
direction.  My  whole  mind  was  taken  up  with  Jesus  and 
his  salvation  ;  and  the  world  seemed  to  me  of  very  little 
2 


26  UBMOIE8   OP   CHABLES   G.    FINtfEY. 

consequence.  Nothing,  it  seemed  to  me,  could  be  put  IE 
competition  with  the  worth  of  souls ;  and  no  labor,  I 
thought,  could  be  so  sweet,  and  no  employment  so  exalted, 
as  that  of  holding  up  Christ  to  a  dying  world. 

With  this  impression,  as  I  said,  I  sallied  forth  to  converse 
with  any  with  whom  I  might  meet.  I  first  dropped  in  at  the 
shop  of  a  shoemaker,  who  was  a  pious  man,  and  one  of  the 
most  praying  Christians,  as  I  thought,  in  the  church.  I 
found  him  in  conversation  with  a  son  of  one  of  the  elders  of 
the  church  ;  and  this  young  man  was  defending  Universal- 
ism.  Mr.  W ,  the  shoemaker,  turned  to  me  and  said, 

"  Mr.  Finney,  what  do  you  think  of  the  argument  of  this 
young  man  ;  "  and  he  then  stated  what  he  had  bet-n  saying 
in  defence  of  Universalism.  The  answer  appeared  to  me  so 
ready  that  in  a  moment  I  was  enabled  to  blow  his  argument 
to  the  wind.  The  young  man  saw  at  once  that  his  argu 
ment  was  gone  ;  and  he  rose  up  without  making  any  reply, 
and  went  suddenly  out.  But  soon  I  observed,  as  I  stood  in 
the  middle  of  the  room,  that  the  young  man,  instead  of 
going  along  the  street,  had  passed  around  the  shop,  had 
climbed  over  the  fence,  and  was  steering  straight  across  the 
fields  toward  the  woods.  I  thought  no  more  of  it  until 
evening,  when  the  young  man  came  out,  and  appeared  to 
be  a  bright  convert,  giving  a  relation  of  his  experience. 
He  went  into  the  woods,  and  there,  as  he  said,  gave  his  heart 
to  God. 

I  spoke  with  many  persons  that  day,  and  I  believe  tht 
Spirit  of  God  made  lasting  impressions  upon  every  one  of 
them.  I  cannot  remember  one  whom  I  spoke  with,  who 
was  not  soon  after  converted.  Just  at  evening  I  called  at 
the  house  of  a  friend,  where  a  young  man  lived  who  was 
employed  in  distilling  whiskey.  The  family  had  heard  that 
I  had  become  a  Christian  ;  and  as  they  were  about  to  sit 
down  to  tea,  they  urged  me  to  sit  down  and  take  tea  with 
them.  The  man  of  the  house  and  his  wife  were  both  pro 
fessors  of  religion.  But  a  sister  of  the  lady,  who  was  pres 


BEGINNING   OF   HIS   WORK.  27 

ent,  was  an  unconverted  girl ;  and  this  young  man  of  whom 
I  have  spoken,  a  distant  relative  of  the  family,  was  a  pro- 
fessed  Universalist.  He  was  rather  an  outspoken  and  talk 
ative  Universalist,  and  a  young  man  of  a  good  dea?  >-£  energy 
of  character. 

I  sat  down  with  them  to  tea,  and  they  requested  me  to 
ask  a  blessing.  It  was  what  I  had  never  done  ;  but  I  did 
not  hesitate  a  moment,  but  commenced  to  ask  the  blessing 
of  God  as  we  sat  around  the  table.  I  had  scarcely  more  than 
begun  before  the  state  of  these  young  people  rose  before  my 
mind,  and  excited  so  much  compassion  that  I  burst  into 
weeping,  and  was  unable  to  proceed.  Every  one  around  the 
table  sat  speechless  for  a  short  time,  while  I  continued  to 
weep.  Directly,  the  young  man  moved  back  from  the  table 
and  rushed  out  of  the  room.  He  fled  to  his  room  and 
locked  himself  in,  and  was  not  seen  again  till  the  next 
morning,  when  he  came  out  expressing  a  blessed  hope  in 
Christ.  He  has  been  for  many  years  an  able  minister  of 
the  Gospel. 

In  the  course  of  the  day,  a  good  deal  of  excitement  was 
created  in  the  village  by  its  being  reported  what  the  Lord 
had  lone  for  my  soul.  Some  thought  one  thing,  and  some 
another.  At  evening,  without  any  appointment  having  been 
made  that  I  could  learn,  I  observed  that  the  people  were 
going  co  the  place  where  they  usually  held  their  conference 
and  prayer  meetings.  My  conversion  had  created  a  good 
deal  of  astonishment  in  the  village.  I  afterward  learned 
that  some  time  before  this  some  members  of  the  church  had 
proposed,  in  a  church  meeting,  to  make  me  a  particular  sub 
ject  of  prayer,  and  that  Mr.  Gale  had  discouraged  them, 
saying  that  he  did  not  believe  I  would  ever  be  converted ; 
that  from  conversing  with  me  he  had  found  that  I  was  very 
much  enlightened  upon  the  subject  of  religion,  and  very 
much  hardened.  And  furthermore,  he  said  he  was  almost 
discouraged  ;  that  I  led  the  choir,  and  taught  the  young 
people  sacred  music  ;  and  that  they  were  so  much  under  my 


MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   O.    PUTNEY. 

influence  that  he  did  not  believe  that,  while  I  remained  m 
Adams,  they  would  ever  be  converted. 

I  found  after  I  was  converted,  that  some  of  the  wicked 
men  in  the  plane  had  hid  behind  me.  One  man  in  par 
ticular,  a  Mr.  0  - — ,  who  had  a  pious  wife,  had  repeatedly 
said  to  her,  "  If  religion  is  true,  why  don't  you  convert  Fin- 
ney  ?  If  you  Christians  can  convert  Finney,  I  will  believe  in 
religion. 

An  old  lawyer  by  the  name  of  M ,  living  in  Adams, 

when  he  heard  it  rumored  that  day  that  I  was  converted, 
said  that  it  was  all  a  hoax  ;  that  I  was  simply  trying  to  se^ 
what  I  could  make  Christian  people  believe. 

However,  with  one  consent  the  people  seemed  to  rush  to 
the  place  of  worship.  I  went  there  myself.  The  minister 
was  there,  and  nearly  all  the  principal  people  in  the  village. 
No  one  seemed  ready  to  open  the  meeting  ;  but  the  house 
was  packed  to  its  utmost  capacity.  I  did  not  wait  for  any 
body,  but  arose  and  began  by  saying  that  I  then  knew  that 
religion  was  from  God.  I  went  on  and  told  such  j>«rts  of 
my  experience  as  it  seemed  important  for  me  to  telL  This 
Mr.  C ,  who  had  promised  his  wife  that  if  I  was  con 
verted  he  would  believe  in  religion,  was  present.  Mr.  M , 

the  old  lawyer,  was  also  present.  What  the  Lord  enabled 
me  to  say  seemed  to  take  a  wonderful  hold  upon  the  people. 

Mr.  C got  up,  pressed  through  the  crowd,  and  went 

home,  leaving  his  hat.  Mr.  M also  left  and  went  home, 

saying  I  was  crazy.  "  He  is  in  earnest,"  said  he,  "  there  is 
no  mistake  ;  but  he  is  deranged,  that  is  clear." 

As  soon  as  I  had  done  speaking,  Mr.  Gale,  the  minister, 
rose  and  made  a  confession.  He  said  he  believed  he  had 
oeen  in  the  way  of  the  church  ;  and  then  confessed  that  he 
had  discouraged  the  church  when  they  had  proposed  to  pray 
for  me.  He  said  also  that  when  he  had  heard  that  day  that 
I  was  converted,  .^e  had  promptly  said  that  he  did  not  be 
lieve  it.  He  said  he  had  no  faith.  He  spoke  in  a  very  hum 
ble  manner 


BBGUJSTNIKG  OF   HIS   WORK.  29 

I  had  never  made  a  prayer  in  public.  But  soon  after 
Mr.  Gale  was  through  speaking,  he  called  on  me  to  pray.  I 
did  so,  and  think  I  had  a  good  deal  of  enlargement  and  lib 
erty  in  prayer.  We  had  a  wonderful  meeting  that  evening  ; 
and,  from  that  day,  we  had  a  meeting  e\ery  evening  for  a 
long  time.  The  work  spread  on  every  side. 

As  I  had  been  a  leader  among  the  young  people,  I  imme 
diately  appointed  a  meeting  for  tv*m,  which  they  all 
attended — that  is,  all  of  the  class  *ich  which  I  was  ac 
quainted.  I  gave  up  my  time  to  labor  for  their  conversion  ; 
and  the  Lord  blessed  every  effort  fchat  was  made,  in  a  very 
wonderful  manner.  They  were  converted  one  after  another, 
with  great  rapidity ;  and  the  work  continued  among  them 
until  but  one  of  their  number  was  left  unconverted. 

The  work  spread  among  all  classes  ;  and  extended  itself, 
not  only  through  the  village,  but  out  of  the  village  in  every 
direction.  My  heart  was  so  full  that,  for  more  than  a  week, 
I  did  not  feel  at  all  inclined  to  sleep  or  eat.  I  seemed  liter 
ally  to  have  meat  to  eat  that  the  world  knew  nothing  of.  1 
did  not  feel  the  need  of  food,  or  of  sleep.  My  mind  wa& 
full  of  the  love  of  God  to  overflowing.  I  went  on  in  this 
way  for  a  good  many  days,  until  I  found  that  I  must  rest 
and  sleep,  or  I  should  become  insane.  From  that  point  J 
was  more  cautious  in  my  labors  ;  and  ate  regularly,  and 
slept  as  much  as  I  could. 

The  word  of  God  had  wonderful  power ;  and  I  was 
every  day  surprised  to  find  that  a  few  words,  spoken  to  an 
individual,  would  stick  in  his  heart  like  an  arrow. 

After  a  short  time  I  went  down  to  Henderson,  where  my 
father  lived,  and  visited  him.  He  was  an  unconverted  man  ; 
and  only  one  of  the  family,  my  youngest  brother,  had  ever 
made  a  profession  of  religion.  My  father  met  me  at  the  gate 
and  said,  "How  do  you  do,  Charles?"  I  replied,  "I  am 
well,  father,  body  and  soul.  But,  father,  you  are  an  old  man  ; 
all  your  children  are  grown  up  and  have  left  your  house ; 
and  T  never  beard  a  prayer  in  mv  father's  house."  Father 


SO  HEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G. 

dropped  his  head,  and  burst  into  tears,  and  replied,  "  I 
know  it,  Charles ;  come  in  and  pray  yourself." 

We  went  in  and  engaged  in  prayer.  My  father  and 
mother  were  greatly  moved  ;  and  in  a  very  short  time  there 
after  they  were  !x>th  hopefully  converted.  I  do  not  know 
but  my  mother  had  had  a  secret  hope  before  ;  but  if  so,  none 
of  the  family,  I  believe,  ever  knew  it. 

I  remained  in  that  neighborhood,  I  think,  for  two  or 
three  days,  and  conversed  more  or  less  with  such  people  as  I 
could  meet  with.  I  believe  it  was  the  next  Monday  night, 
they  had  a  monthly  concert  of  prayer  in  that  town.  There 
were  there  a  Baptist  church  that  had  a  minister,  and  a  small 
Congregational  church  without  a  minister.  The  town  was 
very  much  of  a  moral  waste,  however ;  and  at  this  time 
religion  was  at  a  very  low  ebb. 

My  youngest  brother  attended  this  monthly  concert  of 
which  1  have  spoken,  and  afterward  gave  me  an  account  of 
it.  The  Baptist?  and  Congregationalists  were  in  the  habit 
of  holding  a  union  monthly  concert.  But  few  attended 
and  therefore  it  was  held  at  a  private  house.  On  this  occa 
sion  they  met,  as  usual,  in  the  parlor  of  a  private  house.  A 
few  of  the  members  of  the  Baptist  church,  and  a  few  Con 
gregationalists,  were  present. 

The  deacon  of  the  Congregational  church  was  a  spare, 

feeble  old  man,  by  the  name  c ;  M .    He  was  quiet  in  his 

ways,  and  had  a  good  reputation  for  piety  ;  but  seldom  said 
much  upon  the  subject.  He  was  a  good  specimen  of  a  New 
England  deacon.  He  was  present,  and  they  called  upon  him 
to  lead  the  meeting.  He  read  a  passage  of  Scripture  accord 
ing  to  their  custom.  They  then  sung  a  hymn,  and  Deacon 

M stood  up  behind  his  chair,  and  led  in  prayer.     The 

ether  persons  present,  all  of  them  professors  of  religion,  and 
younger  people,  "tneit  down  around  the  room. 

My  brother  said  that  Deacon  M began  as  usual  in  his 

prayer,  in  a  low,  leebie  voice  ;  but  soon  began  to  wax  warm 
and  to  raise  his  voice,  which  became  tremulous  with  emo 


BEGINNING   OF   HIS   WORK.  31 

toon.  He  proceeded  to  pray  with  more  and  more  earnest 
ness,  till  soon  he  began  to  rise  upon  his  toes  and  come  down 
upon  his  heels  ;  and  then  to  rise  upon  his  toes  and  drop 
upon  his  heels  again,  so  that  they  could  feel  the  jar  in  the 
room.  He  continued  to  raise  his  voice,  and  to  rise  upor 
his  toes,  and  come  down  upon  his  heels  more  emphatically. 
And  as  the  spirit  of  prayer  led  him  onward  he  began  to 
raise  his  chair  together  with  his  heels,  and  bring  that  down 
upon  the  floor  ;  and  soon  he  raised  it  a  little  higher,  and 
brought  it  down  with  still  more  emphasis.  He  continued 
to  do  this,  and  grew  more  and  more  engaged,  till  he  would 
bring  the  chair  down  as  if  he  would  break  it  to  pieces. 

In  the  meantime  the  brethren  and  sisters  that  were  on 
their  knees,  began  to  groan,  and  sigh,  and  weep,  and 
agonize  in  prayer.  The  deacon  continued  to  struggle  until 
he  was  about  exhausted  ;  and  when  he  ceased,  my  brother 
said  that  no  one  in  the  room  could  get  off  from  his  knees. 
They  could  only  weep  and  confess,  and  all  melt  down  before 
the  Lord.  From  this  meeting  the  work  of  the  Lord  spread 
forth  in  every  direction  all  over  the  town.  And  thus  it 
spread  at  that  time  from  Adams  as  a  centre,  throughout 
nearly  all  the  towns  in  the  county. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  conviction  of  Squire  W  — .  in 
whose  office  I  studied  law.  I  have  also  said  that  when  I 
was  converted,  it  was  in  a  grove  where  I  went  to  pray. 
Very  soon  after  my  conversion,  several  other  cases  of 
conversion  occurred  that  were  reported  to  have  taken 
place  under  similar  circumstances  ;  that  is,  persons  went  up 
into  the  grove  to  pray,  and  there  made  their  peace 
with  God. 

When  Squire  W heard  them  tell  their  experience, 

one  after  the  other,  in  our  meetings,  he  thought  that  he  had 
a  parlor  to  pray  in  ;  and  that  he  was  not  going  nv  mto  the 
woods,  to  have  the  same  story  to  tell  that  had  b«*n  so  often 
told.  To  this,  it  appeared,  he  strongly  committed  himself. 
Although  this  was  a  thing  entirely  immaterial  in  itself  ;  yet 


32  MEMOIRS   OF   CHAKLES   6. 

it  was  a  point  on  which  his  pride  had  become  committed, 
and  therefore  he  could  not  get  into  the  kingdom  of  God. 

I  have  found  in  my  ministerial  experience  a  great  many 
cases  of  this  kind  ;  where  upon  some  question,  perhaps  im 
material  in  itself,  a  sinner's  pride  of  heart  would  commit 
him.  In  all  such  cases  the  dispute  must  be  yielded,  or  the 
sinner  never  will  get  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  I  have 
known  persons  to  remain  for  weeks  in  great  tribulation  of 
mind,  pressed  by  the  Spirit ;  but  they  could  make  no  pro 
gress  till  the  point  upon  which  they  were  committed  was 

yielded.     Mr.  W was  the  first  case  of  the  kind  that  had 

ever  come  to  my  notice. 

-after  he  was  converted,  he  said  the  question  had  fre 
quently  come  up  when  he  was  in  prayer  ;  and  that  he  had 
been  made  to  see  that  it  was  pride  that  made  him  take  that 
stand,  and  that  kept  him  out  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  But 
still  he  was  not  willing  to  admit  this,  even  to  himself.  He 
tried  in  every  way  to  make  himself  believe,  and  to  make  God 
believe,  that  he  was  not  proud.  One  night,  he  said,  he 
prayed  all  night  in  his  parlor  that  God  would  have  mercy 
on  him  ;  but  in  the  morning  he  felt  more  distressed  than 
ever.  He  finally  became  enraged  thac  Gx*l  did  not  hear 
his  prayer,  and  was  tempted  to  kill  himself.  He  was  so 
tempted  to  use  his  pen-knife  for  that  purpose,  that  he 
actually  threw  it  as  far  M  he  could,  that  it  might  be 
lost,  so  that  this  temptation  should  not  prevail.  He  said 
that,  one  night,  on  returning  from  meeting,  he  was  sc 
pressed  with  a  sense  of  his  pride,  and  with  the  fact  that 
it  prevented  his  going  up  into  the  woods  to  pray,  that  he  wa* 
determined  to  m^e  himself  believe,  and  make  God  believe 
that  he  was  not  proud  ;  and  he  sought  around  for  a  mud 
puddle  in  which  to  kneel  down,  that  he  might  demonstrate 
fchat  it  was  not  pride  which  kept  him  from  going  into  the 
woods.  Thus  he  continued  to  struggle  for  several  weeks. 

But  one  afternoon  I  was  sitting  in  our  office,  and  two  of 
the  elders  of  the  church  with  me  ;  when  the  vouus1  man  that 


BEGINNING  OF  HIS   WORK.  33 

i  had  met  at  the  shoemaker's  shop,  came  hastily  into  the 
office,  and  exclaimed  as  he  came,  "Squire  W is  con 
verted  ! "  and  proceeded  to  say  :  "  I  went  up  into  the  woods 
to  pray,  and  heard  some  one  over  in  the  valley  shouting  very 
loud.  I  went  up  to  the  brow  of  the  hill,  where  I  could  look 
down,  and  I  saw  Squire  W pacing  to  and  fro,  and  sing 
ing  as  loud  as  he  could  sing ;  and  every  few  moments  he 
would  stop  and  clap  his  hands  with  his  full  strength,  and 
shout,  '  I  will  rejoice  in  the  God  of  my  salvation  ! '  Then 
he  would  march  and  sing  again ;  and  then  stop,  and  shout, 
and  clap  his  hands."  While  the  young  man  was  telling  ua 

tMs,  behold,  Squire  W appeared  in  sight,  coming  over 

fcue  hill.      As  he  came  down  to  the  foot  of    the  hill  we 

observed  that  he  met  Father  T ,  as  we  all  called  him,  an 

aged  Methodist  brother.  He  rushed  up  to  him,  and  took 
him  right  up  in  his  arms.  After  setting  him  down,  and  con 
versing  a  moment,  he  came  rapidly  toward  the  office.  When 
he  came  in,  he  was  in  a  profuse  perspiration — he  was  a  heavy 
man,  and  he  cried  out,  "  I've  got  it ! "  I've  got  it !"  clapped 
his  hands  with  all  his  might,  and  fell  upon  his  knees  and 
began  to  give  thanks  to  God.  He  then  gave  us  an  account 
of  what  had  been  passing  in  his  mind,  and  why  he  had  not 
obtained  a  hope  before.  He  said  as  soon  as  he  gave  up  that 
point  and  went  into  the  woods,  his  mind  was  relieved ;  and 
when  he  knelt  down  to  pray,  the  Spirit  of  God  came  upon 
him  and  filled  him  with  such  unspeakable  joy  that  it  resulted 
in  the  scene  which  the  young  man  witnessed.  Of  course 

from    that  time   Squire   W took   a  decided  stand  for 

God. 

Toward  spring  the  older  members  of  the  church  began 
&o  abate  in  their  zeal.  I  had  been  in  the  habit  of  rising 
early  in  the  morning,  and  spending  a  season  of  prayer  alone 
in  the  meeting-house  ;  and  I  finally  succeeded  in  interesting 
a  considerable  number  of  brethren  to  meet  me  there  in  the 
morning  for  a  prayer-meeting.  This  was  at  a  very  early 
hour ;  and  we  were  generally  together  long  before  it  wa* 


34  MEMOIRS   OP   CHARLES   G. 

light  enough  to  see  to  read.  I  persuaded  my  minister  tc 
attend  these  morning  meetings. 

But  soon  they  began  to  be  remiss  ;  whereupon  I  would 
get  up  in  time  to  go  around  to  their  houses  and  wake  them 
up.  Many  times  I  went  round  and  round,  and  called  the 
brethren  that  I  thought  would  be  most  likely  to  attend,  and 
we  would  have  a  precious  season  of  prayer.  But  still  the 
brethren,  I  found,  attended  with  more  and  more  reluctance  ; 
which  fact  greatly  tried  me. 

One  morning  I  had  been  around  and  called  the  brethren 
up,  and  when  1  returned  to  the  meeting-house  but  few  oi 
them  had  got  there.  Mr.  Gale,  my  minister,  was  stanuing 
at  the  door  of  the  church,  and  as  I  came  up,  all  at  once  the 
glory  of  G-od  shone  upon  and  round  about  me,  in  a  manner 
most  marvellous.  The  day  was  just  beginning  to  dawn. 
But  all  at  once  a  light  perfectly  ineffable  shone  in  my  soul, 
that  almost  prostrated  me  to  the  ground.  In  this  light  it 
seemed  as  if  I  could  see  that  all  nature  praised  and  worship 
ped  God  excep'  man,  This  light  seemed  to  be  like  the 
brightness  of  the  sun  in  every  direction.  It  was  too  intense 
for  the  eyes.  I  recollect  casting  my  eye?  down  and  break- 
jng  into  a  flood  of  tears,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  mankind 
did  not  praise  God.  I  think  I  knew  something  then,  by 
actual  experience,  of  that  light  that  prostrated  Paul  on  his 
way  to  Damascus.  It  was  surely  a  light  such  as  I  could  not 
have  endured  long. 

When  I  burst  out  into  such  loud  weeping,  Mr.  Gale  said, 
"  What  is  the  matter,  brother  Finney  ?  "  I  could  not  tell 
him.  I  found  that  he  had  seen  no  light  ;  and  that  he  sa  w 
QO  reason  why  I  eaould  be  in  such  a  state  of  mind.  I  there 
fore  said  but  little.  I  believe  I  merely  replied,  that  I  saw 
the  glory  of  God  ;  and  that  I  could  not  endure  to  think  of 
the  manner  in  which  he  was  treated  by  men.  Indeed,  it 
did  not  seem  to  me  at  the  time  that  the  vision  of  his  glory 
which  I  had,  was  to  be  described  in  words.  I  wept  it  out : 


BEGINNING    OF    HIS    WORK.  35 

and  the  vision,  if  it  may  be  so  called,  passed  away  and  left 
my  mind  calm. 

I  used  to  have,  when  I  was  a  young  Christian,  many  sea 
sons  of  communing  with  God  which  can  not  be  described  in 
words.  And  not  unfrequently  those  seasons  would  end  in 
an  impression  on  my  mind  like  this  :  "  Go,  see  that  thou  tell 
no  man."  I  did  not  understand  this  at  the  time,  and  seve 
ral  times  I  paid  no  attention  to  this  injunction  ;  but  tried  tc 
tell  my  Christian  brethren  what  communications  the  Lord 
had  made  to  me,  or  rather  what  seasons  of  communion  I 
had  with  him.  But  I  soon  found  that  it  would  not  do  to 
tell  my  brethren  what  was  passing  between  the  Lord  and  my 
joul.  They  could  not  understand  it.  They  would  look  sur 
prised,  and  sometimes,  I  thought,  incredulous  ;  and  I  soon 
learned  to  keep  quiet  in  regard  to  those  divine  manifesta 
tions,  and  say  but  little  about  them. 

I  used  to  spend  a  great  deal  of  time  in  prayer  ;  some 
times,  I  thought,  literally  praying  "without  ceasing."  I 
also  found  it  very  profitable,  and  felt  very  much  inclined  to 
hold  frequent  days  of  private  fasting.  On  those  days  I 
would  seek  to  be  entirely  alone  with  God,  and  would  gener 
ally  wander  off  into  the  woods,  or  get  into  the  meeting 
house,  or  somewhere  away  entirely  by  myself. 

Sometimes  I  would  pursue  a  wrong  course  in  fasting,  and 
attempt  to  examine  myself  according  to  the  ideas  of  self-ex 
amination  then  entertained  by  my  minister  and  the  church. 
I  would  try  to  look  into  my  own  heart,  in  the  sense  of  ex 
amining  my  feelings  ;  and  would  turn  my  attention  particu 
larly  to  my  motives,  and  the  state  of  my  mind.  When  I 
pursued  this  course,  I  found  invariably  that  the  day  would 
^lose  without  any  perceptible  advance  being  made.  After 
wards  I  saw  clearly  why  this  was  so.  Turning  my  atten 
tion,  as  I  did,  from  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  looking  int? 
myself,  examining  my  motives  and  feelings,  my  feelings  all 
subsided  of  course.  But  whenever  I  fasted,  and  let  the 
Spirit  take  his  own  course  with  me,  and  gave  myself  up  to 


36  MEMOIRS  OF  CHARLES   G.    FIKITBT. 

let  him  lead  and  instruct  me,  I  universally  found  it  in  the 
highest  degree  useful.  I  found  I  could  not  live  without 
enjoying  the  presence  of  God  ;  and  if  at  any  time  a  cloud 
came  over  me,  I  could  not  rest,  I  could  not  study,  I  could 
not  attend  to  anything  with  the  least  satisfaction  or  benefit, 
until  the  medium  was  again  cleared  between  my  soul  and 
God. 

I  had  been  very  fond  of  my  profession.  But  as  I  have 
said,  when  I  was  converted  all  was  dark  in  that  direction,  and 
I  had,  no  more,  any  pleasure  in  attending  to  law  business. 
I  had  many  very  pressing  invitations  to  conduct  lawsuits, 
but  I  uniformly  refused.  I  did  not  dare  to  trust  myself  ir. 
the  excitement  of  a  contested  lawsuit ;  and  furthermore^  the 
business  itself  of  conducting  other  people's  controversies, 
appeared  odious  and  offensive  to  me. 

The  Lord  taught  me,  in  those  early  days  of  my  Christian 
experience,  many  very  important  truths  in  regard  to  the 
spirit  of  prayer.  Not  long  after  I  was  converted,  a  woman 
with  whom  I  had  boarded — though  I  did  not  board  with  her 
at  this  time,  was  taken  very  sick.  She  was  not  a  Christian, 
but  her  husband  was  a  professor  of  religion.  He  came  .nto 

our  office  one  evening,  being  a  brother  of  Squire  W , 

and  said  to  me,  "  My  wife  cannot  live  through  the  night" 
This  seemed  to  plant  an  arrow,  as  it  were,  in  my  heart. 
It  came  upon  me  in  the  sense  of  a  burden  that  crushed 
me,  the  nature  of  which  I  could  not  at  all  understand ; 
but  with  it  came  an  intense  desire  to  pray  for  that  woman. 
The  burden  was  so  great  that  I  left  the  office  almost  imme 
diately,  and  went  up  to  the  meeting  house,  to  pray  for  her. 
There  I  struggled,  but  could  not  say  much.  I  could  only 
groan  with  groanings  loud  and  deep. 

I  stayed  a  considerable  time  in  the  church,  in  this  state 
of  mind,  but  got  no  relief.  I  returned  to  the  office  ;  but  I 
could  not  sit  still.  I  could  only  walk  the  roon»  -uad  ago 
nize.  I  returned  to  the  meeting  house  again,  ;nd  went 
through  the  same  process  of  struggling.  For  a  ;ng  tim**  * 


BEGINNING   OF   HIS  WORK.  37 

tried  to  get  my  prayer  before  the  Lord  ;  but  somehow  words 
could  not  express  it.  I  could  only  groan  and  weep,  with 
out  being  able  to  express  what  I  wanted  in  words.  I  re 
turned  to  the  office  again,  and  still  found  1  was  unable  to 
rest ;  and  I  returned  a  third  time  to  the  meeting  house. 
At  this  time  the  Lord  gave  me  power  to  prevail.  I  was 
enabled  to  roll  the  burden  upon  him  ;  and  I  obtained  the 
assurance  in  my  own  mind  that  the  woman  would  not  die, 
and  indeed  that  she  would  never  die  in  her  sins. 

I  returned  to  the  office.  My  mind  was  perfectly  quiet ; 
and  I  soon  left  and  retired  to  rest.  Early  the  next  morning 
the  husband  of  this  woman  came  into  the  office.  I  enquired 
how  his  wife  was.  He,  smiling  said,  "  She's  alive,  and  to 
all  appearance  better  this  morning."  I  replied,  "Brother 

W ,  she  will  not  die  with  this  sickness ;  you  may  rely 

upon  it.  And  she  will  never  die  in  her  sins."  I  do  not 
know  how  I  was  made  sure  of  this ;  but  it  was  in  some  way 
made  plain  to  me,  so  that  I  had  no  doubt  that  she  would 
recover.  She  did  recover,  and  soon  after  obtained  a  hope 
in  Christ. 

At  first  I  did  not  understand  what  this  exercise  of  mind 
that  I  had  passed  through,  was.  But  shortly  after  in  relat 
ing  it  to  a  Christian  brother  he  said  to  me,  "  Why,  that  was 
the  travail  of  your  soul."  A  few  minutes'  conversation, 
and  pointing  me  to  certain  scriptures,  gave  me  to  under 
stand  what  it  was. 

Another  experience  which  I  had  soon  after  this,  illustrates 
the  same  truth.  I  have  spoken  of  one  young  woman  as 
belonging  to  the  class  of  young  people  of  my  acquaintance, 
who  remained  unconverted.  This  attracted  a  good  deal 
of  attention ;  and  there  was  considerable  conversation 
among  Christians  about  her  case.  She  was  naturally  a  charm 
ing  girl,  and  very  much  enlightened  on  the  subject  of  reli 
gion,  but  she  remained  in  her  sins. 

One  of  the  elders  of  the  church  and  myself  agreed  to 
make  her  a  daily  subject  of  prayer,  to  continue  to  present 


38  MEMO1BS   OF   CHAKLES   G. 

her  case  at  the  throne  of  grace,  morning,  noon,  and  evening, 
until  she  was  either  converted,  or  should  die,  or  we  should 
be  unable  to  keep  our  covenant.  I  found  my  mind  greatly 
exercised  about  her  ;  and  mo?«>  and  more,  as  I  continued  to 
pray  for  her.  I  soon  found,  nowever,  that  the  elder  who 
had  entered  into  this  arrangement  with  me,  was  losing  hie 
spirit  of  prayer  for  her.  But  this  did  not  discourage  me. 
I  continued  to  hold  on  with  increasing  importunity.  I  also 
availed  myself  of  every  opportunity  to  converse  plainly  and 
searchingly  with  her  on  the  subject  of  her  salvation. 

After  I  had  continued  in  this  way  for  sometime,  one 
evening  I  called  to  see  her  just  as  the  sun  was  setting.  As 
I  came  up  to  the  door  I  heard  a  shriek  from  a  female  voice, 
and  a  scuffling  and  confusion  inside  the  door  ;  and  stood 
and  waited  for  the  confusion  to  be  over.  The  lady  of  the 
house  soon  came  and  opened  the  door,  and  held  in  her  hand 
a  portion  of  a  book,  which  had  evidently  been  torn  in  two. 
She  was  pale  and  T*ry  much  agitated.  She  held  out  that 
portion  of  the  book  which  she  had  in  her  hand,  and  said, 
"  Mr.  Finney,  don't  you  think  my  sister  has  become  a 
Universalist  ? "  The  book  was  a  defense  of  Universalism. 
Her  sister  had  detected  her  reading  it  in  a  private  way,  and 
tried  to  get  it  away  from  her  ;  and  it  was  the  struggle  to 
obtain  that  book  which  I  had  heard. 

I  received  this  information  at  the  door ;  whereupon  1 
declined  to  go  in.  It  struck  me  very  much  in  the  same 
way  as  had  the  announcement  that  the  sick  woman, 
already  mentioned,  was  about  to  die.  It  loaded  me  down 
with  great  agony.  As  I  returned  to  my  room,  at  some  dis 
tance  from  that  house,  I  felt  almost  as  if  I  should  st&ggei 
tinder  the  burden  that  was  on  my  mind  ;  and  I  struggled, 
and  groaned,  and  agonized,  but  could  not  frame  to  present 
the  case  before  God  in  words,  but  only  in  groans  and  tears. 

It  seemed  to  me  that  the  discovery  that  that  young 
woman,  instead  of  being  converted,  was  becoming  a  Univer 
salist,  so  astounded  me  that  I  could  not  break  through  with 


BEGINNING   OF   HIS   WORK.  39 

my  faith,  and  get  hold  of  God  in  reference  to  her  case. 
There  seemed  to  be  a  darkness  hanging  over  tne  question, 
as  if  a  cloud  had  risen  up  between  me  and  God,  in  regard 
to  prevailing  for  her  salvation.  But  still  the  Spirit  struggled 
within  me  with  groanings  that  could  not  be  uttered. 

However,  I  was  obliged  to  retire  that  night  without  hav- 
ag  prevailed.  But  as  soon  as  it  was  light  I  awoke  ;  and  the 
iirst  thought  that  I  had  was  to  beseech  the  God  of  grace 
again  for  that  young  woman.  I  immediately  arose  and  fell 
upon  my  knees.  No  sooner  was  I  upon  my  knees  than  the 
darkness  gave  way,  and  the  whole  subject  opened  to  my 
mind ;  and  as  soon  as  I  plead  for  her  God  said  to  me, 
"Yes!  yes!"  If  he  had  spoken  with  an  audible  voice, 
it  would  not  have  been  more  distinctly  understood  than  was 
this  word  spoken  within  my  soul.  It  instantly  relieved  all 
my  solicitude.  My  mind  became  filled  with  the  greatest 
peace  and  joy  ;  and  I  felt  a  complete  certainty  that  her  sal 
vation  was  secure. 

I  drew  a  false  inference,  however,  in  regard  to  the  time 
which  indeed  was  not  a  thing  particularly  impressed  upon 
mv  mind  at  thp  time  of  my  prayer.  Still  I  expected  her  to 
be  converted  immediately  ;  but  she  was  not.  She  remained 
in  her  sins  for  several  months.  In  its  proper  place  I  shall 
have  occasion  to  speak  of  her  conversion.  I  felt  disap 
pointed,  at  the  time,  that  she  was  not  converted  at  once ; 
and  was  somewhat  staggered  upon  the  question  whether  I 
had  really  prevailed  with  God  in  her  behalf. 

Soon  after  I  was  converted,  the  man  with  whom  I  had 
been  boarding  for  some  time,  who  was  a  magistrate,  and  one 
of  the  principal  men  in  the  place,  was  deeply  convicted  of 
sin.  He  had  been  elected  a  member  of  the  legislature  of 
the  state.  I  was  praying  daily  for  him,  and  urging  him  to 
give  his  heart  to  God  His  conviction  became  very  deep  j 
but  still,  from  day  to  day,  he  deferred  submission,  and  did 
aot  obtain  a  hope.  My  solicitude  for  him  increased. 

One  afternoon  several  of  his  political  friends  had  a  pro- 


40  MEMOIES    OP  CHARLES  G. 

tracted  interview  with  him.  On  the  evening  of  the  same  day 
I  attempted  again  to  carry  his  case  to  God  ;  as  the  urgency  in 
my  mind  for  his  conversion  had  become  very  great.  In  my 
prayer  I  had  drawn  very  near  to  God.  I  do  not  remember 
zyer  to  have  been  in  more  intimate  communion  with  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  than  I  was  at  that  time.  Indeed  hi* 
presence  was  so  real  that  I  was  bathed  in  tears  of  joy,  and 
gratitude,  and  love ;  and  in  this  state  of  mind  I  attempted 
to  pray  for  this  friend.  But  the  moment  I  did  so,  my  mouth 
was  shut.  I  found  it  impossible  to  pray  a  word  for  him. 
The  Lord  seemed  to  say  to  me,  "  No  ;  I  will  not  hear."  An 
anguish  seized  upon  me  ;  I  thought  at  first  it  was  a  tempta 
tion.  But  the  door  was  shut  in  my  face.  It  seemed  as  if 
the  Lord  said  to  me,  "  Speak  no  more  to  me  of  that  mat 
ter."  It  pained  me  beyond  expression.  I  did  not  know 
what  to  make  of  it. 

The  next  morning  I  saw  him  ;  and  as  soon  as  I  brought 
up  the  question  of  submission  to  God,  he  said  to  me,  "  Mr. 
Finney,  I  shall  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  it  until  I 
return  from  the  legislature.  I  stand  committed  to  my  polit 
ical  friends  to  carry  out  certain  measures  in  the  legislature, 
that  are  incompatible  with  my  first  becoming  a  Christian  ; 
and  I  have  promised  that  I  will  not  attend  to  the  subject 
until  after  I  have  returned  from  Albany." 

From  the  moment  of  that  exercise  the  evening  before,  I 
had  no  spirit  of  prayer  for  him  at  all.  As  soon  as  he  told 
me  what  he  had  done,  I  understood  it  I  could  see  that  his 
convictions  were  all  gone,  and  that  the  Spirit  of  God  had 
left  him.  From  that  time  he  grew  more  careless  and 
hardened  than  ever. 

When  the  time  arrived  he  went  to  the  legislature ;  and 
in  the  Spring  he  returned  an  almost  insane  Universalist.  I 
say  almost  insane,  because,  instead  of  having  formed  his 
opinions  from  any  evidence  or  course  of  argument,  he  told 
me  this  :  he  said,  "  I  have  come  to  that  conclusion,  not 
because  I  have  found  it  taught  in  the  Bible,  but  because  sucb 


BEGINNING  OF  HIS   WOEK.  43 

A  doctrine  is  so  opposed  to  the  carnal  mind.  It  is  a  doctrine 
so  generally  rejected  and  wpoken  against,  as  to  prove  that  it 
is  distasteful  to  the  carnal,  or  unconverted  mind."  This 
was  astonishing  to  me.  But  everything  else  that  I  could 
get  out  of  him  was  as  wild  and  absurd  as  this.  He  remained 
in  his  sins,  finally  fell  into  decay,  and  died  at  last,  as  I  have 
been  told,  a  dilapidated  man,  and  in  the  fall  faith  of  hk 


CHAFTEB   IV. 
58*3   DOcmmrAL  EDUCATION  AND  OTHER  BXPBKIEHOBS  A; 

ADAMS. 

SOON  aftei  I  was  convert^  I  called  on  my  pastor,  and 
had  a  long  conversation  with  him  on  the  atonement 
He  was  a  Princeton  student,  and  of  course  held  the  limited 
view  of  the  atonement — that  it  was  made  for  the  elect  and 
available  to  none  else.  Our  conversation  lasted  nearly  half 
a  day.  He  held  that  Jesus  suffered  for  the  elect  the  literal 
penalty  of  the  Divine  law  ;  that  he  suffered  just  what  was 
due  to  each  of  the  elect  on  the  score  of  retributive  justice. 
I  objected  that  this  was  absurd  ;  as  in  that  case  he  suffered 
the  equivalent  of  endless  misery  multiplied  by  the  whole 
number  of  the  elect  He  insisted  that  this  was  true.  He 
affirmed  that  Jesus  hterally  paid  the  debt  of  the  elect,  and 
fully  satisfied  retributive  justice.  On  the  contrary  it 
seemed  to  me  that  Jesus  only  satisfied  public  justice,  and 
that  that  was  all  that  the  government  of  God  could  require. 

I  was  however  but  a  child  in  theology.  I  was  but  a 
novice  in  religion  and  in  Biblical  learning  ;  but  I  thought  he 
did  not  sustain  his  views  from  the  Bible,  and  told  him  so. 
I  had  read  nothing  on  the  subject  except  my  Bible ;  and 
what  I  had  there  found  upon  the  subject  I  had  inter 
preted  as  I  would  have  understood  the  same  or  like  pas 
sages  m  a  law  book.  I  thought  he  had  evidently  interpreted 
those  texts  in  conformity  with  an  established  theory  of  the 
atonement.  I  had  never  heard  him  preach  the  views  he 
maintained  in  that  discussion.  I  was  surprised  in  view  of 
his  positions,  and  withstood  them  as  best  I  could. 

He  was  alarmed,  1  aare  say,  at  what  appeared  to  him  to 


HIS   DOCTRINAL   EDUCATION.  43 

be  my  obstinacy.  I  thought  that  my  Bible  clearly  taugbt 
that  the  atonement  was  made  for  all  men.  He  limited  it  to 
a  part.  I  could  not  accept  this  view,  for  I  could  not  see 
that  he  fairly  proved  it  from  the  Bible.  His  rules  of  inter 
pretation  did  not  meet  my  views.  They  were  much  less 
definite  and  intelligible  than  those  to  which  I  had  been 
accustomed  in  my  law  studies.  To  the  objections  which  I 
urged,  he  could  make  no  satisfactory  reply.  I  asked  him  if 
the  Bible  did  not  require  all  who  hear  the  Gospel  to  repent, 
believe  the  Gospel,  and  be  saved.  He  admitted  that  it  did 
require  all  to  believe,  and  be  saved.  But  how  could  they 
believe  and  accept  a  salvation  which  was  not  provided  for 
them? 

We  went  over  the  whole  field  of  debate  between  the  old 
and  new  school  dirines,  upon  the  subject  of  atonement, 
as  my  subsequent  theological  studies  taught  me.  I  do 
not  recollect  to  have  ever  read  a  page  upon  the  subject 
except  what  I  had  found  in  the  Bible.  I  had  never,  to  my 
recollection,  heard  a  sermon  or  any  discussion  whatevei 
upon  the  question. 

This  discussion  was  often  renewed,  and  continued  through 
my  whole  course  of  theological  studies  under  him.  He 
expressed  concern  lest  I  should  not  accept  the  orthodox 
faith.  I  believe  he  had  the  strongest  conviction  that  I  was 
truly  converted  ;  but  he  felt  the  greatest  desire  to  keep  me 
within  the  strict  lines  of  Princeton  theology. 

He  had  ::  fixed  in  his  mind  that  I  should  be  a  minister  j 
and  he  took  pains  to  inform  me  that  if  I  did  become  a  min 
ister,  the  Lord  would  not  bless  my  labors,  and  his  Spirit 
would  no4-  ^ear  witness  to  my  preaching,  unless  I  preached 
the  truth.  I  believed  this  myself.  But  this  was  not  to  me 
*  very  strong  argument  in  favor  of  his  views  ;  for  he  informed 
me — but  not  in  connection  with  this  conversation,  that  he 
did  not  know  that  he  had  ever  been  instrumental  in  convert 
ing  a  sinner. 

I  had  never  heard  him  preach  particularly  on  the  subject 


44  MEMOIRS  OF  CHARLES  G.    FISTNEY. 

of  the  atonement ;  I  think  he  feared  to  present  his  particu 
lar  views  to  the  people.  His  church,  I  am  sure,  did  no1 
embrace  his  view  of  a  limited  atonement. 

After  this  we  had  frequent  conversations,  not  only  01 
the  question  of  the  atonement,  but  on  various  theologica 
questions,  of  which  I  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  more 
fully  hereafter. 

I  have  said  that  in  the  spring  of  the  year  the  older  mem 
bers  of  the  church  began  manifestly  to  decline  in  theii 
engagedness  and  zeal  for  God.  This  greatly  oppressed  me, 
as  it  did  also  the  young  converts  generally.  About  this 
time  I  read  in  a  newspaper  an  article  under  the  head  of,  "A 
revival  revived."  The  substance  of  it  was,  that  in  a  certain 
place  there  had  been  a  revival  during  the  winter  ;  that  in 
the  spring  it  declined  ;  and  that  upon  earnest  prayer  being 
offered  for  the  continued  out-pouring  of  the  Spirit,  the 
revival  was  powerfully  revived.  This  article  set  me  into  a 
flood  of  weeping. 

I  was  at  that  time  boarding  with  Mr.  Gale,  and  I  took 
the  article  to  him.  I  was  so  overcome  with  a  sense  of  the 
divine  goodness  in  hearing  and  answering  prayer,  and  with  a 
felt  assurance  that  he  would  hear  and  answer  prayer  for 
the  revival  of  his  work  in  Adams,  that  I  went  through  the 
house  weeping  aloud  like  a  child.  Mr.  Gale  seemed  sur 
prised  at  my  feelings,  and  my  expressed  confidence  that  God 
would  revive  his  work.  The  article  made  no  such  impres 
sion  on  him  as  it  did  on  me. 

At  the  next  meeting  of  the  young  people,  I  proposed  that 
we  should  observe  a  closet  concert  of  prayer  for  the  revival 
of  God's  work  ;  that  we  should  pray  at  sunrise,  at  noon, 
and  at  sunset,  in  our  closets,  and  continue  this  for  one  week  t 
when  we  should  come  together  again  and  see  what  farther 
was  to  be  done.  No  other  means  we  €  used  for  the  revival 
of  God's  work.  But  the  spirit  of  prayer  was  immediately 
poured  out  wonderfully  upon  the  young  converts.  Before 
the  week  was  out  I  learned  that  some  of  them,  when  theT 


HIS    DOCTRINAL   EDUCATION.  45 

would  attempt  to  observe  this  season  of  prayer,  would  lose 
all  their  strength  and  be  unable  to  rise  to  their  feet,  or  even 
stand  upon  their  knees  in  their  closets ;  and  that  some 
would  lie  prostrate  on  the  floor,  and  pray  with  unutterable 
groanings  for  the  out-pouring  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 

The  Spirit  was  poured  out,  and  before  the  week  ended  all 
the  meetings  were  thronged  ;  and  there  was  as  much  interest 
in  religion,  I  think,  as  there  had  been  at  any  time  during  the 
revival. 

And  here,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  a  mistake  was  made,  or, 
perhaps  I  should  say,  a  sin  committed,  by  some  of  the  older 
members  of  the  church,  which  resulted  in  great  evil.  As  I 
afterward  learned,  a  considerable  number  of  the  older  people 
resisted  this  new  movement  among  the  young  converts. 
They  were  jealous  of  it.  They  did  not  know  what  to  make 
of  it,  and  felt  that  the  young  converts  were  getting  out  of 
their  place,  in  being  so  forward  and  so  urgent  upon  the  older 
members  of  the  church.  This  state  of  mind  finally  grieved 
the  Spirit  of  God.  It  was  not  long  before  alienations  began 
to  arise  among  these  older  members  of  the  church,  which 
finally  resulted  in  great  evil  to  those  who  had  allowed  them 
selves  to  resist  this  latter  revival. 

The  young  people  held  out  well.  The  converts,  so  far  as 
I  know,  were  almost  universally  sound,  and  have  been  thor 
oughly  efficient  Christians. 

In  the  Spring  of  this  year,  1822,  I  put  myself  under  the 
care  of  the  Presbytery  as  a  candidate  for  the  Gospel  naisistry. 
Some  of  the  ministers  urged  me  to  go  to  Princeton  to  study 
theology,  but  I  declined.  When  they  asked  me  why  I 
would  not  go  to  Princeton,  I  told  them  that  my  pecuniary 
circumstances  forbade  it.  This  was  true  ;  but  they  said  they 
would  see  that  my  expenses  were  paid.  Still  I  refused  to  go  ; 
and  when  urged  to  give  them  my  reasons,  I  plainly  told  them 
that  I  would  not  put  myself  under  such  an  influence  as  they 
had  been  under ;  that  I  was  confident  they  had  been  wronglj 
educated,  and  they  were  not  minister.-!  that  met  my  ideal  of 


46  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G.    FLtftfEY. 

what  a  minister  of  Christ  should  be.  I  told  them  this  reluo 
tantly,  but  I  could  not  honestly  withhold  it.  They  appointed 
my  pastor  to  superintend  my  studies.  He  offered  me  the 
use  of  his  library,  and  said  he  would  give  what  attention  I 
needed  to  my  theological  studies. 

But  my  studies,  so  far  as  he  was  concerned  as  my  teacher, 
^ere  little  else  than  controversy.  He  held  to  the  old  school 
doctrine  of  original  sin,  or  that  the  human  constitution  was 
morally  depraved.  He  held  also,  that  men  were  utterly 
unable  to  comply  with  the  terms  of  the  Gospel,  to  repent, 
to  believe,  or  to  do  anything  that  God  required  them  to  do  ; 
that  while  they  were  free  to  all  evil,  in  the  sense  of  being 
able  to  commit  any  amount  of  sin,  yet  they  were  not  free  to 
perform  any  good  ;  that  God  had  condemned  men  for  their 
sinful  nature  ;  and  for  this,  as  well  as  for  their  transgres 
sions,  they  deserved  eternal  death. 

He  held  also  that  the  influences  of  the  Spirit  of  God  on 
the  minds  of  men  were  physical,  acting  directly  upon  the 
substance  of  the  soul ;  that  men  were  passive  in  regenera 
tion  ;  and  in  short  he  held  all  those  doctrines  that  logically 
flow  from  the  fact  of  a  nature  sinful  in  itself. 

These  doctrines  I  could  not  receive.  I  could  nui  receive 
his  views  on  the  subject  of  atonement,  regeneration,  faith, 
repentance,  the  slavery  of  the  will,  or  any  of  the  kindred 
doctrines.  But  of  these  views  he  was  quite  tenacious  ;  and 
he  seemed  sometimes  not  a  little  impatient  because  I  did  not 
receive  them  without  question. 

He  used  to  insist  that  if  I  would  reason  on  the  subject,  I 
should  probably  land  in  infidelity.  And  then  he  would 
remind  me  that  some  of  the  students  who  had  been  at 
Princeton  had  gone  away  infidels,  because  they  would  rea 
son  on  the  subject,  and  would  not  accept  the  confession  of 
faith,  and  the  teaching  of  the  doctors  at  that  school.  He 
furthermore  warned  me  repeatedly,  and  very  feelingly,  that 
as  a  minister  I  should  never  be  useful  unless  I  embraced  the 
truth  meaning:  the  truth  as  he  believed  and  taught  it 


HIS    DOCTRINAL    EDUCATION.  47 

f  am  sure  f  was  quite  willing  to  believe  what  I  found 
taught  in  the  Bible,  and  told  him  so.  We  used  to  have 
many  protracted  discussions  ;  and  I  would  often  come  from 
his  study  greatly  depressed  and  discouraged,  saying  to  my- 
solf,  "  I  cannot  embrace  these  views  coKie  what  will.  I  can 
not  believe  they  are  taught  in  the  Bible.'"'  And  several  times 
F  was  on  the  point  of  giving  up  the  study  for  the  ministry 
altogether. 

There  was  but  one  member  of  the  church  to  whom  I 
opened  my  mind  freely  on  this  subject ;  and  that  was  Eldei 

H ,  a  very  godly,  praying  man.     He  had  been  educated 

in  Princeton  views,  and  neld  pretty  strongly  the  higher  doc 
trines  of  Calvinism.  Nevertheless,  as  we  had  frequent  and 
protracted  conversations,  he  became  satisfied  that  I  was 
right ;  and  he  would  call  on  me  frequently  to  have  seasons 
of  prayer  with  me,  to  strengthen  me  in  my  studies,  and  in 

my  discussions  with  Mr.  G- ,  and  to  decide  me  more  and 

more  firmly  that,  come  what  would,  I  would  preach  the 
Gospel. 

Several  times  he  fell  in  with  me  when  I  was  in  a  state 
of  great  depression,  after  coming  from  Mr.  Gale's  study. 
At  such  times  he  would  go  with  me  to  my  room ;  and  some 
times  we  would  continue  till  a  late  hour  at  night  crying  to 
God  for  light  and  strength,  and  for  faith  to  accept  and  do 
his  perfect  will.  He  lived  more  than  three  miles  from  the 
\illage  ;  and  frequently  he  has  stayed  with  me  till  ten  or 
eleven  o'clock  at  night,  and  ther  v*lked  home.  The  dear 
old  man  !  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  he  prayed  for  me 
daily  as  long  as  he  lived. 

After  I  got  into  the  ministry  and  great  opposition  was 

raised  to  my  preaching,  I  met  Elder  H at  one  time, 

and  he  alluded  to  the  opposition,  and  said,  "  Oh  1  my  soul 
is  so  burdened  that  I  pray  for  you  day  and  night.  But  I 
am  sure  that  God  will  help.  Go  on,"  he  said,  "go  on. 
brother  Finney;  the  Lord  will  give  you  deliverance." 

One  afternoon  Mr.  Gale  and  I  had  been  conversing  for  a 


4:8  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G. 

long  time  on  the  subject  of  the  atonement,  and  the  hom 
arrived  for  us  to  attend  the  conference  meeting.  We  con 
tinued  our  conversation  on  that  subject  until  we  got  into  the 
house.  As  we  were  early,  and  very  few  persons  had  arrived, 
we  continued  our  conversation.  The  people  kept  coming 
in  ;  and  they  would  sit  down  and  listen  with  the  greatest 
attention  to  what  we  were  saying.  Our  discussion  was  very 
earnest,  though  I  trust  conducted  in  a  Christian  spirit. 
The  people  became  more  and  more  interested  in  hearing  our 
discussion,  &iid  when  we  proposed  to  stop  and  commence  our 
meeting,  they  earnestly  begged  us  to  proceed  with  our  dis 
cussion  and  let  that  be  our  meeting.  We  did  so  ;  and  spent 
the  whole  evening,  I  think  very  much  to  the  satisfaction  of 
those  present,  and  I  trust  to  their  permanent  edification. 

After  I  had  been  studying  theology  for  a  few  months,  and 
Mr.  Gale's  health  was  such  that  he  was  unable  to  preach;  a 
Universalist  minister  came  in  and  began  to  promulge  his 
objectionable  doctrines.  The  impenitent  part  of  the  com 
munity  seemed  very  much  disposed  to  hear  him,  and  finally 
people  became  so  interested  that  there  was  a  large  number 
that  seemed  to  be  shaken  in  their  minds,  in  regard  to  the 
commonly  received  views  of  the  Bible. 

In  this  state  of  things,  Mr.  Gale,  together  with  some  of 
the  elders  of  his  church,  desired  me  to  address  the  people  on 
the  subject,  and  see  if  I  could  not  reply  to  the  arguments  of 
the  Universaliat.     The  great  effort  of  the  Universalist  was 
of  course  to  show  that  sin  did  not  deserve  endless  punish 
ment.     He  inveighed  against  the  doctrine  of  endless  punish 
ment  as  unjust,  infinitely  oruel  and  absurd.     God  was  love 
and  how  could  a  God  of  love  punish  men  endlessly  ? 

I  arose  in  one  of  our  evening  meetings  and  said,  "  ThJs 
Uaiversalist  preacher  holds  forth  doctrines  that  are  new  to 
me,  and  I  do  not  believe  they  are  taught  in  the  Bible.  But 
I  am  going  to  examine  the  subject,  and  if  I  cannot  show 
that  his  views  are  false,  I  will  become  a  Universalist  myself." 
I  then  appointed  a  meeting  the  next  week,  at  which  time  ] 


HIS  DOCTBIKAL  EDUCATION.  49 

proposed  to  deliver  a  lecture  in  opposition  to  his  views.  The 
Christian  people  were  rather  startled  at  my  boldness  in  say 
ing  that  I  would  be  a  Universalist,  if  I  could  not  prove  that 
his  doctrines  were  false.  However,  I  felt  sure  that  I  could. 

When  the  evening  came  for  my  lecture,  the  house  wae 
crowded.  I  took  up  the  question  of  the  justice  of  endless 
Dunishment,  and  discussed  it  through  that  and  the  next 
evening.  Tnere  was  general  satisfaction  with  the  presenta 
tion. 

The  Universalist  himself  found  that  the  people  were  con 
vinced  that  he  was  wrong,  and  then  he  took  another  tack. 
Mr.  Gale,  together  with  his  school  of  theology,  maintained 
that  the  atonement  of  Christ  was  the  literal  payment  of  the 
debt  o±  the  elect,  a  suffering  of  just  what  they  deserved  to 
suffer  ;  so  that  the  elect  were  saved  upon  principles  of  exact 
justice  ;  Christ,  so  far  as  they  were  concerned,  having  fully 
answered  the  demands  of  one  law.  The  Universalist  seized 
upon  this  view,  assuming  that  this  was  the  real  nature  of  the 
atonement.  He  had  only  to  prove  that  the  atonement  was 
made  for  all  men,  and  then  he  could  show  that  all  men 
would  be  saved;  because  the  debt  of  all  mankind  had  been 
literally  paid  by  the  Lord  Jesus  Chngl,  and  Universalism 
would  follow  on  the  very  ground  of  justice;  for  God  could 
not  justly  punish  those  whose  debt  was  paid. 

I  saw,  and  the  people  saw — those  of  them  who  under 
stood  Mr.  Gale's  position,  that  the  Universalist  had  got 
him  into  a  tight  place.  For  it  was  easy  to  prove  that  the 
atonement  was  made  for  all  mankind  ;  and  if  the  nature  and 
ralue  of  the  atonement  were  as  Mr.  Gale  held,  universal 
ralvation  was  an  inevitable  result. 

This  again  carried  the  people  away ;  and  Mr.  Gale  sent 
tor  me  and  requested  that  I  should  go  on  and  reply  to  him 
further.  He  said  he  understood  that  the  question  on  the 
ground  of  law  was  settled  ;  but  now  I  must  answer  his  argu 
ment  upon  the  ground  of  the  Gospel.  I  said  to  him,  "  Mr. 
Gale,  I  cannot  do  it  without  contradicting  your  views  on 
3 


50  MEMOIBS   OF   CHARLES   G. 

that  subject,  and  setting  them  all  aside.  With  your  viewa 
of  the  atonement  he  cannot  be  answered.  For  if  you  haye 
the  right  view  of  the  atonement,  the  people  can  easily  see 
that  the  Bible  proves  that  Christ  died  for  all  men,  for  the 
whole  world  of  sinners  ;  and  therefore  unless  you  will  allow 
me  to  sweep  your  views  of  the  atonement  all  away,  I  can  say 
nothing  to  any  purpose."  "Well,"  said  Mr.  Gale,  "it 
will  never  do  to  let  the  thing  remain  as  it  is.  You  may  say 
what  you  please ;  only  go  on  and  answer  him  in  your  own 
way.  If  I  find  it  necessary  to  preach  on  the  subject  of  the 
atonement,  I  shall  be  obliged  to  contradict  you."  "Very 
well,"  said  I,  "let  me  but  show  my  views,  and  I  can  answer 
the  Universalist ;  and  you  may  say  to  the  people  afterward 
what  you  please." 

I  then  appointed  to  lecture  on  the  Universalist's  argu 
ment  founded  on  the  Gospel.  I  delivered  two  lectures  upon 
the  atonement.  In  these  I  think  I  fully  succeeded  in  show 
ing  that  the  atonement  did  not  consist  in  the  literal  payment 
of  the  debt  of  sinners,  in  the  sense  whiuh  the  Universalist 
/  maintained  ;  that  it  simply  rendered  the  salvation  of  all  men 
possible,  and  did  not  of  itself  lay  God  under  obligation  tc 
save  anybody ;  that  it  was  not  true  that  Christ  suffered  just 
what  those  for  whom  he  died  deserved  to  suffer  ;  that  *\o 
such  thing  as  that  was  taught  in  the  Bible,  and  no  such 
thing  was  true  ;  that,  on  the  contrary,  Christ  died  simply  to 
remove  an  insurmountable  obstacle  out  of  the  way  of  God's 
forgiving  sinners,  so  as  to  render  it  possible  for  him  to  pro 
claim  a  universal  amnesty,  inviting  all  men  to  repent,  to 
believe  in  Christ,  and  to  accept  salvation  ;  that  instead  of 
having  satisfied  retributive  justice,  and  borne  just  what 
sinners  deserve,  Christ  had  only  satisfied  public  justice,  by 
honoring  the  law,  both  in  his  obedience  and  death,  thus  ren 
dering  it  safe  for  God  to  pardon  sin,  to  pardon  the  sins  of 
any  man  and  of  all  men  who  would  repent  and  believe  in 
him.  I  maintained  that  Christ,  in  his  atonement,  merely  did 
tkftt  which  was  necessary  as  a  condition  of  the  forgiveness 


HIS  DOCTRINAL  EDUCATION.  51 

»f  sin ;  and  not  that  which  cancelled  sin,  in  the  sense  o* 
literally  paying  the  indebtedness  of  sinners. 

This  answered  the  Universalist,  and  put  a  stop  to  any 
further  proceedings  or  excitement  on  that  subject.  But 
what  was  very  striking,  these  lectures  secured  the  conversion 
of  the  young  won? an  foi*  whom,  as  I  have  said,  such  earnest 
and  agonizing  prayer  had  been  offered.  This  was  very 
astonishing  to  Mr.  Gale  ;  for  the  evidence  was  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  had  blessed  mjr  views  of  the  atonement.  This, 
I  think,  staggered  him  consideraWy  in  regard  to  the  correct 
ness  of  his  view.  I  could  see,  in  conrersing  with  him,  that 
he  felt  very  much  surprised  that  this  view  of  the  atonement 
should  be  instrumental  in  converting  ^>hat  young  woman. 

After  many  gach  discussions  with  Mr  Gale  in  pursuing 
my  theological  studies,  the  presbytery  was  finally  called 
together  at  Adams  to  examine  me  ;  and,  if  they  could  agree 
to  do  so,  to  license  me  to  preach  the  Gospel.  This  was  in 
March,  1824.  I  expected  a  severe  struggle  with  them  in  my 
examination  ;  but  I  found  them  a  good  deal  softened.  The 
manifest  blessing  that  had  attended  my  conversations,  and 
my  teaching  in  prayer  and  conference  meetings,  and  in  these 
lectures  of  which  I  have  spoken,  rendered  them,  I  think, 
more  cautious  than  they  would  otherwise  have  been  in  getting 
into  any  controversy  with  me.  In  the  course  of  my  examina 
tion  they  avoided  asking  any  such  questions  as  would  nat 
urally  bring  my  views  into  collision  with  theirs. 

When  they  had  examined  me,  they  voted  unanimously  to 
license  me  to  preach.  Unexpectedly  to  myself  they  asked 
me  if  I  received  the  confession  of  faith  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  I  had  not  examined  it — that  is,  the  large  work 
containing  the  catechism  and  confession.  This  had  made 
no  part  of  my  study.  I  replied  that  I  received  it  for  sub 
stance  of  doctrine,  so  far  as  I  understood  it.  But  I  spoke  in 
a  way  that  plainly  implied,  I  think,  that  I  did  not  pretend 
to  know  much  about  it.  However,  I  answered  honestly,  as 
I  understood  it  at  the  time.  They  heard  the  trial  sermons 


*2  MEMOIftt   OF  OHABLES  G.    F1NKET. 

which  I  had  written,  on  texts  which  had  been  given  me  by 
the  presbytery ;  and  went  through  with  all  the  ordinary 
details  of  such  an  examination. 

At  this  meeting  of  presbytery  I  first  saw  Rev.  Daniel 
Nash,  who  is  generally  known  as  "Father  Nash."  He  wag 
a  member  of  the  presbytery.  A  large  congregation  waa 
assembled  to  hear  my  examination.  I  got  in  a  little  late, 
and  saw  a  man  standing  in  the  pulpit  speaking  to  the 
people,  as  I  supposed.  He  looked  at  me,  I  observed,  as  I 
came  in ;  and  was  looking  at  others  as  they  passed  up  the 
aisles. 

As  soon  as  I  reached  my  seat  and  listened,  I  observed 
that  he  was  praying.  I  was  surprised  to  see  him  looking  all 
over  the  house,  as  if  he  were  talking  to  the  people  ;  while  in 
fact  he  was  praying  to  God.  Of  course  it  did  not  sound  to 
me  much  like  prayer  ;  and  he  was  at  that  time  indeed  in  a 
very  cold  and  back-slidden  state.  I  shall  have  occasion 
frequently  to  mention  him  hereafter. 

The  next  Sabbath  after  I  was  licensed,  I  preached  for 
Mr.  Gale.  When  I  came  out  of  the  pulpit  he  said  to  me. 
"Mr.  Finney,  I  shall  be  very  much  ashamed  to  have  it 
known,  wherever  you  go,  that  you  studied  theology  with 
me."  This  was  so  much  like  him,  and  like  what  he  had 
repeatedly  said  to  me,  that  I  made  little  or  no  reply  to 
it.  I  held  down  my  head,  and  felt  discouraged,  and  went 
my  way. 

He  afterwards  viewed  this  subject  very  differently  ;  and 
told  me  that  he  blessed  the  Lord  that  in  all  our  discussion, 
and  in  all  he  had  said  to  me,  he  had  not  had  the  least 
nfluence  to  change  my  views.  He  very  frankly  confessed 
nis  error  in  tne  manner  in  which  he  had  dealt  with  me 
and  said  that  if  I  had  listened  to  him  *  should  have  been 
ruined  as  a  minister. 

The  fact  is  that  Mr.  Gale's  education  for  the  ministry 
had  been  entirely  defective.  He  had  imbibed  a  set  of  opin 
ions,  both  theological  and  practical,  that  were  a  strait 


318  DOCTRINAL  EDUCATION.  61 

packet  to  him.  He  could  accomplish  very  little  or  nothing 
if  he  carried  out  his  own  principles.  I  had  the  use  of  hi* 
library,  and  searched  it  thoroughly  on  all  the  questions  of 
theology,  which  came  up  for  examination ;  and  the  more  I 
examined  the  books,  the  more  was  I  dissatisfied. 

I  had  been  used  to  the  close  and  logical  reasonings  of  the 
judges,  as  I  found  them  reported  in  our  law  works  ;  but  when 
I  went  to  Mr.  Gale's  old  school  library,  I  found  almost 
nothing  proved  to  my  satisfaction.  I  am  sure  it  was  not 
because  I  was  opposed  to  the  truth,  but  I  was  dissatisfied 
because  the  positions  of  these  theological  authors  were 
unsound  and  not  satisfactorily  sustained.  They  often  seemed 
to  me  to  state  one  thing  and  prove  another,  and  frequently 
fell  short  of  logically  proving  anything. 

I  finally  said  to  Mr.  Gale,  "  If  there  is  nothing  better 
than  I  find  in  your  library  to  sustain  the  great  doctriuet 
taught  by  our  church,  I  must  be  an  infidel. "  And  I  hav» 
always  believed  that  had  not  the  Lord  led  me  to  see  the  fal 
lacy  of  those  arguments,  and  to  see  the  real  truth  as  pre 
sented  in  the  Scriptures  ;  especially  had  he  not  so  revealed 
himself  to  me  personally  that  I  could  not  doubt  the  truth  of  thfl 
Christian  religion,  I  should  have  been  forced  to  be  an  infideL 

At  first,  being  no  theologian,  my  attitude  in  respect  to 
his  peculiar  views  was  rather  that  of  negation  or  denial,  than 
that  of  opposing  any  positive  view  to  his.  I  said,  "  Youi 
positions  are  not  proved."  I  often  said,  "They  are  unsus 
ceptible  of  proof."  So  I  thought  then,  and  so  I  think  now. 
But  after  all,  he  would  insist  upon  it  that  I  ought  to  defer 
to  the  opinions  of  the  great  and  good  men  who,  after  much 
consultation  and  deliberation,  had  come  to  those  conclusions  ; 
that  it  was  unbecoming  in  me,  a  young  man,  bred  to  the 
profession  of  law,  and  having  no  theological  education,  to 
oppose  my  views  to  those  of  the  great  men  and  profound 
theologians,  whose  opinions  I  found  in  his  library.  He 
urged  that  if  I  persisted  in  having  my  intelligence  satisfied, 
an  those  points,  with  argument,  1  should  beoome  an  infidel 


54  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G. 

He  believed  that  the  decisions  of  the  church  ought  to  be 
respected  by  a  young  man  like  myself,  and  that  I  should 
surrender  my  own  judgment  to  that  of  others  of  superior 
wisdom. 

Now  I  could  not  deny  that  there  was  a  good  deal  of  force 
in  this ;  but  still  I  found  myself  utterly  unable  to  accept 
loctrine  on  the  ground  of  authority.  If  I  tried  to  accept 
•hose  doctrines  as  mere  dogmas,  I  could  not  do  it.  I  could 
aot  be  honest  in  doing  it ;  I  could  not  respect  myself  in 
doing  it.  Often  when  I  left  Mr.  Gale,  I  would  go  to  my 
room  and  spend  a  long  time  on  my  knees  over  my  Bible. 
Indeed  I  read  my  Bible  on  my  knees  a  great  deal  during 
those  days  of  conflict,  beseeching  the  Lord  to  teach  me  his 
own  mind  on  those  •  points.  I  had  no  where  to  go  but 
directly  to  the  Bible,  and  to  the  philosophy  or  workings  of 
my  own  mind,  as  revealed  in  consciousness. 

My  views  took  on  a  positive  type  but  slowly.  At  first 
I  found  myself  unable  to  receive  his  peculiar  views  ;  and 
then  gradually  formed  views  of  my  own  in  opposition  to 
them,  which  appeared  to  me  to  be  unequivocally  taught  in 
the  Bible. 

But  not  only  were  Mr.  Gale's  theological  views  such  as 
to  cripple  his  usefulness ;  his  practical  views  were  equally 
erroneous.  Hence  he  prophesied,  with  respect  to  my  views, 
every  kind  of  evil.  He  assured  me,  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
would  not  approve  and  cooperate  with  my  labors  ;  that  if  I 
addressed  men  as  I  told  him  I  intended  to,  they  would  not 
hear  me  ;  that  if  they  came  for  a  short  time,  they  would 
soon  become  offended,  and  my  congregation  would  all  fall 
off ,  that  unless  I  wrote  my  sermons  I  should  immediately 
Become  stale  and  uninteresting,  and  could  not  satisfy  the 
people ;  and  that  I  should  divide  and  scatter  instead  of 
building  up  the  congregation,  wherever  I  preached.  Indeed 
I  found  his  views  to  be  almost  the  reverse  of  those  which  I 
entertained,  on  all  such  practical  questions  relating  to  mj 
luty  as  a  minister. 


HIS   DOCTRINAL  EDUCATION.  56 

I  do  not  wonder,  and  did  not  at  the  time,  that  ae  was 
shocked  at  my  views  and  purposes  in  relation  to  preaching 
the  Gospel.  With  his  education  it  could  not  be  otherwise. 
He  followed  out  his  views  with  very  little  practical  result. 
I  pursued  mine,  and  by  the  blessing  of  God  the  results  ^ere 
the  opposite  of  those  which  he  predicted.  When  this  fact 
came  out  clearly,  it  completely  upset  his  theological  and 
practical  ideas  as  a  minister.  This  result,  as  I  shall  mention 
in  its  place,  at  first  annihilated  his  hope  as  a  Christian,  and 
finally  made  him  quite  another  man  as  a  minister. 

But  there  was  another  defect  in  brother  Gale's  edu 
cation,  which  I  regarded  as  fundamental.  If  he  had  ever 
been  converted  to  Christ,  he  had  failed  to  receive  that 
divine  anointing  of  the  Holy  Ghost  that  would  make  him  a 
power  in  the  pulpit  and  in  society,  for  the  conversion  of 
souls.  He  had  fallen  short  of  receiving  the  baptism  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  which  is  indispensable  to  ministerial  success. 

When  Christ  commissioned  his  apostles  to  go  and  preach, 
he  told  them  to  abide  at  Jerusalem  till  they  were  endued 
with  power  from  on  high.  This  power,  as  every  one  knows, 
was  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  poured  out  upon  them 
on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  This  was  an  indispensable  qualifi 
cation  for  success  in  their  ministry.  I  did  not  suppose  then, 
nor  do  I  now,  that  this  baptism  was  simply  the  power  to  work 
miracles.  The  power  to  work  miracles  and  the  gift  of 
tongues  were  given  as  signs  to  attest  the  reality  of  their 
divine  commission.  But  the  baptism  itself  was  a  divine 
purifying,  an  anointing  bestowing  on  them  a  divine  illumi 
nation,  filling  them  with  faith,  and  love,  with  peace  and 
power  ;  so  that  their  words  were  made  sharp  in  the  hearts 
of  God's  enemies,  quick  and  powerful,  like  a  two-edged 
sword.  This  is  an  indispensable  qualification  of  a  success 
ful  ministry  ;  and  I  have  often  been  surprised  and  pained 
that  to  this  day  so  little  stress  is  laid  upon  this  qualification 
for  preaching  Christ  to  a  sinful  world.  Without  the  direcl 
teaching  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  a  man  will  never  make  mucl 


»*  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G.    FIUKBT. 

progress  in  preaching  the  Gospel.  The  fact  is,  unless  he 
can  preach  the  Gospel  as  an  experience,  present  religion  to 
mankind  as  a  matter  of  consciousness,  his  speculations  and 
theories  will  come  far  short  of  preaching  the  Gospel. 

I  have  said  that  Mr.  Gale  afterward  concluded  that  he 
had  not  been  converted.  That  he  was  a  sincere,  good  man, 
in  the  sense  of  honestly  holding  his  opinions,  I  do  not  doubt. 
But  he  was  sadly  defective  in  his  education,  theologically, 
philosophically  and  practically  ;  and  so  far  as  I  could  learn, 
his  spiritual  state,  he  had  not  the  peace  of  the  Gospel,  when 
I  sat  under  his  ministry. 

Let  not  the  reader,  from  anything  that  I  have  said,  sup 
pose  that  I  did  not  love  Mr.  Gale,  and  highly  respect  him. 
I  did  both.  He  and  I  remained  the  firmest  friends,  so  far 
as  I  know,  to  the  day  of  his  death.  I  have  said  what  I  have 
In  relation  to  his  views,  because  I  think  it  applicable,  I  am 
afraid  I  must  say,  to  many  of  the  ministers  even  of  the 
iresent  day.  I  think  tnat  their  practical  views  of  preaching 
foe  Gospel,  whatever  their  theological  views  may  be,  are  very 
lefective  indeed  ;  and  that  their  want  of  unction,  and  of  the 
dower  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  a  radical  defect  in  their  prepara 
tion  for  the  ministry.  I  say  not  this  censoriously ;  but  still 
I  would  record  it  as  a  fact  which  has  long  been  settled  in  my 
mind,  and  over  which  I  have  long  had  occasion  to  mourn. 
And  as  I  have  become  more  and  more  acquainted  with  the 
ministry  in  this  and  other  countries,  I  am  persuaded  that, 
with  all  their  training,  and  discipline,  and  education,  there 
is  a  lack  in  practical  views  of  the  best  way  of  presenting  the 
Gospel  to  men,  and  in  adapting  means  to  secure  the  end ; 
and  especially  in  their  want  of  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost 

I  have  spoken  at  considerable  length  of  my  protracted 
controversy  with  my  theological  teacher,  Mr.  Gale.  Upon 
reflection  I  think  that  I  should  state  a  little  more  definitely 
some  of  the  pointe  upon  which  we  had  so  much  discussion. 
I  could  not  receive  that  theological  fiction  of  imputation. 
t  will  state,  as  nearly  as  I  can,  the  exact  ground  that  he 


HIS   DOCTSrKTJLL   XBUOATIOH.  §7 

maintained  and  insisted  upon.  First,  he  maintained  that 
the  guilt  of  Adam's  first  transgression  is  literally  imputed  to 
aD  his  posterity  ;  so  that  they  are  justly  sentenced  and 
exposed  to  eternal  damnation  for  Adam's  sin.  Secondly, 
he  maintained  that  we  received  from  Adam,  by  natural 
generation,  a  nature  wholly  sinful,  and  morally  corrupt  in 
every  faculty  of  soul  and  body ;  so  that  we  are  totally  unable 
to  perform  any  act  acceptable  to  God,  and  are  necessitated 
by  our  sinful  nature  to  transgress  his  law,  in  every  action  of 
our  lives.  And  this,  he  insisted,  is  the  estate  into  which  all 
men  fell  by  the  first  sin  of  Adam.  For  this  sinful  nature, 
thus  received  from  Adam  by  natural  generation,  all  man 
kind  are  also  sentenced  to,  and  are  deserving  of  eternal 
damnation.  Then,  thirdly,  in  addition  to  this,  he  main 
tained  that  we  are  all  justly  condemned  and  sentenced  to 
eternal  damnation  for  our  own  unavoidable  transgression  of 
the  law.  Thus  we  find  ourselves  justly  subject  to  a  triple 
eternal  damnation. 

Then  the  second  branch  of  this  wonderful  imputation  is 
as  follows  :  The  sin  of  all  the  elect,  both  original  and  actual 
— that  is,  the  guilt  of  Adam's  sin,  together  with  the  guilt 
of  their  sinful  nature,  and  also  guilt  of  their  personal 
transgressions,  are  all  literally  imputed  to  Christ;  and 
therefore  the  divine  government  regarded  him  as  an  em 
bodiment  of  all  the  sins  and  guilt  of  the  elect,  and  treated 
him  accordingly ;  that  is,  the  Father  punished  the  Son* 
precisely  as  much  as  all  the  elect  deserved.  Hence  their 
debt  being  thus  fully  discharged  by  the  punishment  of 
Christ,  they  are  saved  upon  principles  of  "  exact  justice/" 

The  third  branch  of  this  wonderful  theological  fiction  is 
AS  follows  :  First — The  obedience  of  Christ  to  the  divine  law 
is  literally  imputed  to  the  elect ;  so  that  in  him  they  arc 
regarded  as  having  always  perfectly  obeyed  the  law. 
Secondly — His  death  for  them  is  also  imputed  to  the  elect ; 
BO  that  in  him  they  are  regarded  as  having  fully  suffered  all 
that  they  deserve  on  i  count  of  the  guilt  of  Adam's  git? 
3* 


58  MEMOIRS  OF  CHARLES   Q.    FINNEl. 

imputed  to  them,  and  on  account  of  their  sinful  nature, and 
also  on  account  of  all  their  personal  transgressions. 
Thirdly — Thus  by  their  surety  the  elect  have  first  perfectly 
obeyed  the  law  ;  and  then  they  have  by  and  in  their  surety 
suffered  the  full  penalty  to  which  they  were  subject  in  con 
sequence  of  the  guilt  of  Adam's  sin  imputed  to  them,  and 
ilso  the  guilt  of  their  sinful  nature,  with  all  their  blame- 
worthiness  for  their  personal  transgressions.  Thus  they 
have  suffered  in  Christ,  just  as  if  they  had  not  obeyed  in 
him.  He,  first,  perfectly  obeys  for  them,  which  obedience 
is  strictly  imputed  to  them,  su  tha-  ,ney  are  regarded  by  the 
government  of  God  as  having  fully  obeyed  in  their  surety  , 
secondly,  he  has  suffered  for  them  the  penalty  of  the  law, 
just  as  if  no  obedience  had  been  rendered  ;  thirdly,  after 
the  law  has  been  doubly  satisfied,  the  elect  are  required  to 
repent  as  if  no  satisfaction  had  been  rendered  ;  fourthly, 
payment  in  full  having  been  rendered  twice  over,  the  dis 
charge  of  the  elect  is  claimed  to  be  an  act  of  infinite  grace. 
Thus  the  elect  are  saved  by  grace  on  principles  of  justice, 
so  that  there  is  strictly  no  grace  or  mercy  in  our  forgiveness, 
but  the  whole  grace  of  our  salvation  is  found  in  the  obedi 
ence  and  sufferings  of  Christ. 

It  follows  that  the  elect  may  demand  their  discharge  on 
the  score  of  strict  justice.  They  need  not  pray  for  pardon 
01  forgiveness  ;  it  is  all  a  mistake  to  do  so.  This  inference 
is  my  own  ;  but  it  follows,  as  every  one  can  see,  irresistibly, 
from  what  the  confession  of  faith  itself  asserts,  that  the 
elect  are  saved  on  principles  of  exact  and  perfect  justice. 

I  found  it  impossible  to  agree  with  Mr.  Gale  on  these 
points.  I  could  not  but  regard  and  treat  this  whole  question 
of  imputation  as  a  theological  fiction.  Upon  these  points 
we  had  constant  discussion,  in  some  shape,  during  the  whole 
course  of  my  study. 

I  do  not  recollect  that  Mr.  Gale  ever  insisted  that  th*. 
confession  of  faith  taught  these  principles,  as  I  learned  that 
it  did  when  I  came  to  study  it.  I  was  not  aware  that  the 


HIS   DOCTBINAL  EDUCATION.  59 

niles  of  the  presbytery  required  them  to  ask  a  candidate  if 
he  accepted  the  Presbyterian  confession  of  faith.  As  soon 
as  I  learned  what  were  the  unambiguous  teachings  of  the 
confession  of  faith  upon  these  points,  I  did  not  hesitate  on 
all  suitable  occasions  to  declare  my  dissent  from  them.  I 
repudiated  and  exposed  them.  Wherever  I  found  that  any 
class  of  persons  were  hidden  behind  these  dogmas,  I  did  not 
hesitate  to  demolish  them,  to  the  best  of  my  ability. 

I  have  not  caricatured  these  positions  of  Mr.  Gale,  but 
have  stated  them,  as  nearly  as  I  can,  in  the  very  language  in 
which  he  would  defend  them,  when  I  presented  them  to  him 
in  controversy.  He  did  not  pretend  that  they  were  rational, 
or  that  they  would  bear  reasoning  upon.  Hence  he  insisted 
that  my  reasoning  would  lead  me  into  infidelity.  But  I 
insisted  that  our  reason  was  given  us  for  the  very  purpose 
of  enabling  us  to  justify  the  ways  of  God  ;  and  that  no  such 
fiction  of  imputation  could  by  any  possibility  be  true. 

Of  course  there  were  many  other  points  that  were  so  re 
lated  to  these  as  necessarily  to  come  under  discussion,  upon 
which  we  had  a  good  deal  of  controversy,  But  our  contro 
versy  always  turned  upon  this  as  the  foundation.  If  man 
had  a  sinful  nature,  then  regene*  *rion  must  consist  in  a 
change  of  nature.  If  man's  nature  was  sinful,  the  influence 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  that  must  regenerate  him,  must  be  physi 
cal  and  not  moral.  If  man  had  a  sinful  nature,  there  was  no 
adaptation  in  the  gospel  to  change  his  nature,  and  conse 
quently  no  connection,  in  religion,  between  means  and  end. 

This  brother  Gale  sternly  held  ;  and  consequently  in  his 
preaching  he  never  seemed  to  expect,  nor  even  to  aim  at 
converting  anybody,  by  any  sermon  that  I  ever  heard  him 
preach.  And  yet  he  was  an  able  preacher  as  preaching  was 
then  estimated.  The  fact  is,  these  dogmas  were  a  perfect 
strait-jacket  to  him.  If  he  preached  repentance,  he  must 
be  sure  before  he  sat  down,  to  leave  the  impression  on  his 
people  that  they  could  not  repent.  If  he  called  them  to 
believe  he  must  be  sure  to  inform  them  that,  until  their  Dft- 


*0  tfEMOIBS   OF   CHARLES   <i. 

ture  was  changed  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  faith  was  impossible  tc 
them.  And  so  his  orthodoxy  was  a  perfect  snare  to  himself 
and  to  his  hearers.  I  could  not  receive  it.  I  did  not  so 
understand  my  Bible ;  nor  could  he  make  me  see  that  it 
was  taught  in  the  Bible. 

When  I  came  to  read  the  confession  of  faith,  and  saw 
ihe  passages  that  were  quoted  to  sustain  these  peculiar  posi  - 
tions,  I  was  absolutely  ashamed  of  it.  I  could  not  feel  any 
respect  for  a  document  that  would  undertake  to  impose  OD 
mankind  such  dogmas  as  those,  sustained,  for  the  most  part, 
by  passages  of  Scripture  that  were  totally  irrelevant ;  and 
not  in  a  single  instance  sustained  by  passages  which,  in  I 
court  of  law,  would  have  been  considered  at  all  conclusive. 
But  the  presbytery,  so  far  as  I  know,  were  all  of  one  way  ol 
thinking  at  that  time.  They  subsequently,  however,  I  be 
lieve,  ail  gave  in ;  and  when  Mr.  Gale  changed  his  views 
I  heard  no  more  from  any  of  the  members  of  the  presbyter? 
>n  defence  of  those 


OHAPTEK  V. 

PBKAGHIKG   AS   A    MI8SIOKAKT. 

|  T  AYING  had  no  regular  training  for  the  ministry  I  did 
J — L  not  expect  or  desire  to  labor  in  large  towns  or  cities, 
or  minister  to  cultivated  congregations,  I  intended  to  go 
into  the  new  settlements  and  preach  in  school-houses,  and 
barns,  and  groyes,  as  best  I  could.  Accordingly,  soon  after 
being  licensed  to  preach,  lor  the  sake  of  being  introduced 
to  the  region  where  I  proposed  to  labor,  I  took  a  commis 
sion,  for  six  months,  from  a  female  missionary  society  lo 
cated  in  Oneida  county.  I  went  into  the  northern  part  of 
Jefferson  county,  and  began  my  labors  at  Evans'  Mills,  in 
uhe  town  of  Le  Ray. 

At  this  place  I  found  two  churches,  a  small  Congrega 
tional  church  without  a  minister,  and  a  Baptist  church  with 
minister.  I  presented  my  credentials  to  the  deacons  of 
the  church.  They  were  very  glad  to  see  me,  and  I  soon 
began  my  labors.  They  had  no  meeting-house ;  but  the 
two  churches  worshipped  alternately  in  a  large  stone  school- 
house,  large  enough,  1  believe,  to  accommodate  all  the 
children  in  the  village.  The  Baptists  occupied  the  house  one 
Sabbath,  and  the  Congregationalists  the  next ;  so  that  I 
could  have  the  house  but  every  other  Sabbath,  but  could  use 
it  evenings  as  often  as  I  pleased.  I  therefore  divided  my 
Sabbaths  between  Evans'  Mills  and  Antwerp,  a  village  some 
sixteen  or  eighteen  miles  still  farther  north. 

I  will  relate  first  some  facts  that  occurred  at  Evans' 
Mills,  during  that  season  ;  and  then  give  a  brief  narrative 
of  the  occurrences  at  Antwerp.  But  as  I  preached  alter 
nately  in  these  two  places,  these  facts  were  occurring  frona 


MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES  6.    FLfftfEY. 

sveek  to  week  in  one  or  the  other  of  these  localities.  1 
began,  as  I  said,  to  preach  in  tne  stone  school-house  at 
Evans'  Mills.  The  people  were  very  much  interested,  and 
thronged  the  place  to  hear  me  preach.  They  extolled  my 
preaching ;  and  the  little  Congregational  church  became 
very  much  interested,  and  hopeful  that  they  should  be  built 
up,  and  that  there  would  be  a  revival.  More  or  less  con 
victions  occurred  under  every  sermon  that  I  preached  ;  but 
still  no  general  conviction  appeared  upon  the  public  mind. 

I  was  very  much  dissatisfied  with  this  state  of  things ; 
and  at  one  of  my  evening  services,  after  having  preached 
there  two  or  three  Sabbaths,  and  several  evenings  in  the 
week,  I  told  the  people  at  the  close  of  my  sermon,  that  I 
had  come  there  to  secure  the  salvation  of  their  souls  ;  that 
my  preaching,  I  knew,  was  highly  complimented  by  them ; 
but  that,  after  all,  I  did  not  come  there  to  please  them  but 
to  bring  them  to  repentance ;  that  it  mattered  not  to  me 
how  well  they  were  pleased  with  my  preaching,  if  after  all 
they  rejected  my  Master  ;  that  something  was  wrong,  either 
in  me  or  in  them  ;  that  the  kind  of  interest  they  manifested 
in  my  preaching  was  doing  them  no  good  ;  and  that  I  could 
not  spend  my  time  with  them  unless  they  were  going  to 
receive  the  Gospel.  I  then,  quoting  the  words  of  Abraham's 
servant,  said  to  them,  "  Now  will  you  deal  kindly  and  truly 
with  my  master  ?  If  you  will,  tell  me  ;  and  if  not,  tell  me, 
that  I  may  turn  to  the  right  hand  or  to  the  left. '  I  turned 
this  question  over,  and  pressed  it  upon  them,  and  insisted 
upon  it  that  I  must  know  what  course  they  proposed  to 
pursue.  If  they  did  not  purpose  to  become  Christians,  and 
enlist  in  the  service  of  the  Saviour,  I  wanted  to  know  it  that 
I  might  not  labor  with  them  in  vain.  I  said  to  them,  "  You 
admit  that  what  I  preach  is  the  Gospel.  Yon  profess  to 
believe  it.  Now  will  you  receive  it  ?  Do  you  mean  to 
receive  it,  or  do  you  intend  to  reject  it  ?  You  must 
have  some  mind  about  it.  And  now  I  have  a  right  to  take 
it  for  granted,  inasmuch  as  vou  admit  that  I  have  preached 


PREACHING  AS  A   MISSIONARY,  63 

the  truth,  that  you  acknowledge  your  obligation  at  once  to 
become  Christians.  This  obligation  you  do  not  leny ;  but 
will  you  meet  the  obligation  ?  Will  you  discharge  it  ?  Will 
you  do  what  you  admit  you  ought  to  do  ?  If  you  will  not, 
tell  me  ;  and  if  you  will,  tell  me,  that  I  may  turn  to  the  right 
hand  or  to  the  left." 

After  turning  this  over  till  I  saw  they  understood  it  well, 
and  looked  greatly  surprised  at  my  manner  of  putting  it,  I 
then  said  to  them,  "Now  I  must  know  your  minds,  and  I 
want  that  you  who  have  made  up  your  minds  to  become 
Christians,  and  will  give  your  pledge  to  make  your  peace 
with  God  immediately,  should  rise  up  ;  but  that,  on  the  con 
trary,  those  of  you  who  are  resolved  that  you  will  not  become 
Christians,  and  wish  me  so  to  understand,  and  wish  Christ 
so  to  understand,  should  sit  still."  After  making  this  plain, 
so  that  I  knew  that  they  understood  it,  I  then  said  :  "  You 
who  are  now  willing  to  pledge  to  me  and  to  Christ,  that  you 
will  immediately  make  your  peace  with  God,  please  rise  up. 
On  the  contrary,  you  that  mean  that  I  should  understand 
that  you  are  committed  to  remain  in  your  present  attitude, 
not  to  accept  Christ — those  of  you  that  are  of  this  mind,  may 
sit  still."  They  looked  at  one  another  and  at  me,  and  all 
sat  still,  just  as  I  expected. 

After  looking  around  upon  them  for  a  few  moments,  I 
said,  "Then  you  are  committed.  You  have  taken  your 
stand.  You  have  rejected  Christ  and  his  Gospel ;  and  ye 
are  witnesses  one  against  the  other,  and  God  is  witness 
against  you  all.  This  is  explicit,  and  you  may  remember  as 
long  as  you  live,  that  you  have  thus  publicly  committed 
yourselves  against  the  Saviour,  and  said,  '  We  will  not  have 
this  man,  Christ  Jesus,  to  reign  over  us.' "  This  is  the  pur 
port  of  what  I  urged  upon  them,  and  as  nearly  in  these 
words  as  I  can  recollect. 

When  I  thus  pressed  them  they  began  fco  look  angry,  and 
arose,  en  masse,  and  started  for  the  door.  When  they  began 
to  more,  I  Daused.  As  soon  as  I  stopped  speaking  they 


54  MJSMOIBS  0*  CHARLES  G.    FISTNET. 

turned  to  see  why  I  did  not  go  on.  I  said,  "  I  am  sorry  fox 
yon  ;  and  will  preach  to  yon  once  more,  the  Lord  willing, 
to-morrow  night." 

They  all  left  the  house  except  Deacon  McO who  wae 

a  deacon  of  the  Baptist  church  in  that  place.  I  saw  that 
the  Congregationalists  were  confounded.  They  were  few  in 
number  and  very  weak  in  faith.  I  presume  that  every 
member  of  both  churches  who  was  present,  except  Deacon 

McC ,  was  taken  aback,  and  concluded  that  the  matter 

was  all  over ; — that  by  my  imprudence  I  had  dashed  and 
ruined  all  hopeful  appearances.  Deacon  McC— came  up 
*nd  took  me  by  the  hand  and  smiling  said,  "  Brother  Pin- 
aey,  you  have  got  them.  They  cannot  rest  ander  this,  rely 
upon  it.  The  brethren  are  all  discouraged,"  said  he  ;  "but 
I  am  not.  I  believe  you  have  done  the  very  thing  that 
Heeded  to  be  done,  and  that  we  shall  see  the  results."  I 
thought  so  myself,  of  course.  I  intended  to  place  them 
m  a  position  which,  upon  reflection,  would  make  them 
tremble  in  view  of  what  they  had  done.  But  for  that  eve 
ning  and  the  next  day  they  were  full  of  wrath.  Deacon 

McC and  myself  agreed  upon  the  spot,  to  spend  the 

next  day  in  fasting  and  prayer — separately  in  the  morning, 
and  together  in  the  afternooii.  I  learned  in  the  course  of 
the  day  that  the  people  were  threatening  me — to  ride  me  on 
a  rail,  to  tar  and  feather  me,  and  to  give  me  a  walking 
paper,  as  they  said.  Some  of  them  cursed  me  ;  and  said 
that  I  had  put  them  under  oath,  and  made  them  swear  that 
they  would  not  serve  God ;  that  I  had  drawn  them  into  a 
solemn  and  public  pledge  to  reject  Christ  and  his  GospeL 
This  was  no  more  than  I  expected.  In  the  afternoon  Deacon 

McC and  I  went  into  a  grove  together,  and  spent  the 

whole  afternoon  in  prayer.  Just  at  evening  the  Lord  gave 
us  great  enlargement,  and  promise  of  victory.  Both  of  us 
felt  assured  that  we  had  prevailed  with  God  ;  and  that,  that 
night,  the  poi  w  Df  God  would  be  revealed  among  the  peopleu 

As  the  tia  e  oame  for  meeting,  we  left  the  wood*  and 


PBEACHTHTG  AS  A   MISSIONARY.  ft 

wont  to  the  village.     The  people  were  already  thronging  tc 

the  place  of  worship  ;  and  those  that  had  not  already  gone 
seeing  us  go  through  the  village,  turned  out  of  their  storee 
and  places  of  business,  or  threw  down  their  ball  clubs  where 
they  were  playing  upon  the  green,  and  packed  the  house 
to  its  utmost  capacity. 

I  had  not  taken  a  thought  witfc  -egard  to  what  I  should 
preach  ;  indeed,  this  was  common  with  me  at  that  time. 
The  Holy  Spirit  was  upon  me,  and  I  felt  confident  that  when 
the  time  came  for  action  I  should  know  what  to  preach. 
As  soon  as  I  found  the  house  packed,  so  that  no  more  could 
get  in,  I  arose,  and  I  think,  without  any  formal  introduction 
of  singing,  opened  upon  them  with  these  words  :  "  Say  ye  to 
the  righteous  that  it  shall  be  well  with  him  ;  for  they  shall 
eat  the  fruit  of  their  doings.  Wo  to  the  wicked  !  it  shall  be 
ill  with  him ;  for  the  reward  of  his  hands  shall  be  given 
him."  The  Spirit  of  God  came  upon  me  with  such  power, 
that  it  was  like  opening  a  battery  upoii  them,  For  more 
than  an  hour,  and  perhaps  for  an  hour  **A  a  half,  the  word 
of  God  came  through  me  to  them  in  a  manner  that  I  could 
see  was  carrying  all  before  it.  It  was  a  fire  and  a  hammer 
breaking  the  rock ;  and  as  the  sword  that  was  piercing  to 
the  dividing  asunder  of  soul  and  spirit.  I  saw  that  a 
general  conviction  was  spreading  over  the  whole  congrega 
tion.  Many  of  them  could  not  hold  up  their  heads.  I  did 
not  call  that  night  for  any  reversal  of  the  action  they  had 
taken  the  night  before,  nor  for  any  committal  of  themselves 
in  any  way  ;  but  took  it  for  granted,  during  the  whole  of 
the  sermon,  that  they  were  committed  against  the  Lord. 
Then  I  appointed  another  meeting,  and  dismissed  the  con 
gregation. 

As  the  people  withdrew,  I  observed  &  woman  in  the 
arms  of  some  of  her  friends,  who  were  supporting  her,  in 
one  part  of  the  house  ;  and  I  went  to  see  what  was  the 
matter,  supposing  that  she  was  in  a  fainting  fit  But  I 
soon  found  that  she  was  not  fainting,  but  that  she  could 


56  MEMOIRS  OF  CHABLES  G.    FltfNEY. 

not  speak.  There  was  a  look  of  the  greatest  anguish  in  hei 
face,  and  she  made  me  understand  that  she  could  not  speak. 
I  advised  the  women  to  take  her  home,  and  pray  with  her, 
and  see  what  the  Lord  would  do.  They  informed  me  that 

she  was  Miss  G ,  sister  of  the  well-known  missionary, 

and  that  she  was  a  member  of  the  church  in  good  standing 
and  had  been  for  several  years. 

That  evening,  instead  cf  gcing  to  my  usTial  lodgings,  J 
accepted  an  invitation,  and  went  home  with  a  family  where 
I  had  not  before  stopped  over  night.  Early  in  the  morning 
I  found  that  I  had  been  sent  for  to  the  place  where  I  was 
supposed  to  be,  several  times  during  the  night,  to  visit  fami 
lies  where  there  were  persons  under  awful  distress  of  mind. 
This  led  me  to  sally  forth  among  the  people,  and  everywhere 
[  found  a  state  of  wonderful  conviction  of  sin  and  alarm  for 
their  souls. 

After  lying  in  a  speechless  state  about  sixteen  hours,  Miss 

G 's  mouth  was  opened,  and  a  new  song  was  given  her. 

She  was  taken  from  the  horrible  pit  of  miry  clay,  and  her 
feet  were  set  upon  a  rock ;  and  it  was  true  that  many  saw  it 
and  feared.  It  occasioned  a  great  searching  among  the  mem 
bers  of  the  church.  She  declared  that  she  had  been  entirely 
ieceived  ;  that  for  eight  year?  she  had  been  a  member  of 
the  church,  and  thought  she  was  a  Christian,  but,  during  the 
sermon  the  night  before,  she  saw  that  she  had  never  known 
the  true  God  ;  and  when  his  character  arose  before  her  mind 
as  it  was  then  presented,  her  hope  "  perished,"  as  she  ex 
pressed  it,  "  like  a  moth."  She  said;  such  a  rie^r  of  the 
holiness  of  God  was  presented,  that  like  a  great  wave  it 
swept  her  away  from  her  standing,  and  annihilated  hei  hope 
in  a  moment. 

I  found  at  this  place  a  number  of  deists  ;  some  of  them 
men  of  high  standing  in  the  community.  One  of  them  was 
a  keeper  of  a  hotel  in  the  village  ;  and  others  were  respect 
able  men,  and  of  more  than  average  intelligence.  But  they 
seemed  banded  together  to  resist  the  revival.  When  I 


PBEAOHING   AS  A   MISSION  ART.  67 

ascertained  exactly  the  ground  they  took,  I  preached  a  ser 
mon  to  meet  their  wants ;  for  on  the  Sabbath  they  would 
attend  my  preaching.  I  took  this  for  my  text :  "  Suffer  me 
a  little,  and  I  will  show  you  that  I  have  yet  to  speak  on 
God's  behalf.  I  will  bring  my  knowledge  from  afar,  and  I 
will  ascribe  righteousness  to  my  Maker."  I  went  over  the 
whole  ground,  so  far  as  I  understood  their  position  ;  and 
God  enabled  me  to  sweep  it  clean.  As  soon  as  I  had  finished 
and  dismissed  the  meeting,  the  hotel  keeper,  who  was  the 
leader  among  them,  came  frankly  up  to  me,  and  taking  me 
by  the  hand,  said,  "Mr.  Finney,  I  am  convinced.  You 
nave  met  and  answered  all  my  difficulties.  Now  I  want  you 
to  go  home  with  me,  for  I  want  to  converse  with  you."  I 
heard  no  more  of  their  infidelity  ;  and  if  I  remember  right, 
that  class  of  men  were  nearly,  or  quite,  all  converted. 

There  was  one  old  man  in  this  place,  who  was  not  onlj 
an  infidel,  but  a  great  railer  at  religion.  He  was  very  angry 
at  the  revival  movement.  I  heard  every  day  of  his  railing 
and  blaspheming,  but  took  no  public  notice  of  it  He  re 
fused  altogether  to  attend  meeting.  But  in  the  midst  of  his 
opposition,  and  when  his  excitement  was  great,  while  sitting 
one  morning  at  the  table,  he  suddenly  fell  out  of  his  chair  in 
a  fit  of  apoplexy.  A  physician  was  immediately  called,  who, 
after  a  brief  examination,  told  him  that  he  could  live  but  a 
very  short  time  ;  and  that  if  he  had  anything  to  say,  he 
must  say  it  at  once.  He  had  just  strength  and  time,  as  1 
was  informed,  to  stammer  out,  "Don't  let  Finney  praj 
over  my  corpse."  This  was  the  last  of  his  opposition  in 
that  place. 

During  that  revival  my  attention  was  called  to  a  sick 
woman  in  the  community,  who  had  been  a  member  of  a 
Baptist  church,  and  was  well-known  in  the  place ;  but 
people  had  no  confidence  in  her  piety.  She  was  fast  failing 
with  the  consumption  ;  and  they  begged  me  to  call  and  see 
her.  I  went,  and  had  a  long  conversation  with  her.  Sh« 
told  me  a  dream  which  she  had  when  ahe  was  a  girl,  which 


88  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   Q.    FUTHBY. 

made  her  think  that  her  sins  were  forgiven.  Upon  that  she 
had  settled  down,  and  no  argument  could  move  her.  I  tried 
to  persuade  her,  that  there  was  no  evidence  of  her  conversion, 
in  that  dream.  I  told  her  plainly  that  her  acquaintance* 
affirmed  that  she  had  never  lived  a  Christian  life,  said,  had 
never  evinced  a  Christian  temper  ;  and  I  had  come  to  try  w 
persuade  her  to  give  up  her  false  hope,  and  see  if  she  wouh 
not  now  accept  Jesus  Christ  that  she  might  be  saved.  . 
dealt  with  her  as  kindly  as  I  could,  but  did  not  fail  to  makt 
her  understand  what  I  meant.  But  she  took  great  offence  , 
and  after  I  went  away  complained  that  I  tried  to  get  away 
her  hope  and  distress  her  mind  ;  that  I  was  cruel  to  try  to 
distress  a  woman  as  sick  as  she  was,  in  that  way — to  try  to 
disturb  the  repose  of  her  mind.  She  died  not  long  after 
ward.  But  her  death  has  often  reminded  me  of  Dr.  Nel 
son's  book  called,  "The  Cause  and  Cure  of  Infidelity." 
When  this  woman  came  to  be  actually  dying,  her  eyes  were 
opened  ;  and  before  she  left  the  world  she  seemed  to  hav» 
such  a  glimpse  of  the  character  of  God,  and  of  what  heaven 
was,  and  of  the  holiness  required  to  dwell  there,  that  sht 
shrieked  with  agony,  and  exclaimed  that  she  was  going  to 
hell.  In  this  state,  as  I  was  informed,  she  died. 

While  at  this  place,  one  afternoon,  a  Christian  brothei 
called  on  me  and  wished  me  to  visit  his  sister,  who,  as  he 
informed  me,  was  fast  failing  with  consumption,  and  was  a 
Universalist.  Her  husband,  he  said,  was  a  Universalist,  and 
had  led  her  into  Universalism.  He  said  he  had  not  asked 
me  to  go  and  see  her  when  her  husband  was  at  home,  because 
he  feared  that  he  would  abuse  me ;  as  he  was  determined 
that  his  wife's  mind  should  not  be  disturbed  on  the  question 
of  universal  salvation.  I  went,  and  found  her  not  at  all  at 
rest  in  her  views  of  Universalism  ;  and  during  my  conversa 
tion  with  her,  she  gave  up  these  views  entirely,  and  appeared 
to  embrace  the  Gospel  of  Christ  I  believe  she  held  fast  fco 
hope  in  Christ  till  she  died. 

A.t  evening  her  husband  returned,  and  learned  from  he* 


PKBACHIire   AS   A   MISSIONARY.  69 

*e\f  wnat  had  taken  place.  He  was  greatly  enraged,  and 
swore  lie  would  "kill  Finney."  As  I  learned  afterward,  he 
armed  himself  with  a  loaded  pistol,  and  that  night  went  to 
meeting  where  I  was  to  preach.  Of  this,  however,  I  knew 
nothing  at  the  time.  The  meeting  that  evening  was  ID  a 
school-house  out  of  the  village.  The  house  was  very  much 
packed,  almost  to  suffocation.  I  went  on  to  preach  with  all 
my  might ;  and  almost  in  the  midst  of  my  discourse  I  saw  a 
powerful  looking  man,  about  in  the  middle  of  the  house,  fall 
from  his  seat.  As  he  sunk  down  he  groaned,  and  then  cried 
jr  shrieked  out,  that  ke  was  sinking  to  hell.  He  repeated 
that  several  times.  The  people  knew  who  he  was,  but  he 
was  a  stranger  to  me.  I  think  I  had  never  seen  him  before. 
Of  course  this  created  a  great  excitement.  It  broke  up  my 
preaching ;  and  so  great  was  his  anguish  that  we  spent  the 
rest  of  our  time  in  praying  for  him.  When  the  meeting  wa» 
dismissed  his  friends  helped  him  home.  The  next  morning 
I  inquired  for  him  ;  and  found  that  he  had  spent  a  sleeples 
night,  in  great  anguish  of  mind,  and  that  at  the  early  dawn 
he  had  gone  forth,  they  knew  not  whither.  He  was  not 
heard  from  till  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning.  I  was 
passing  up  the  street,  and  saw  him  coming,  apparently  from 
a  grove  at  some  distance  from  tne  village.  He  was  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  street  when  I  first  saw  him,  and  coming 
toward  me.  When  he  recognized  me,  he  came  across  the 
street  to  meet  me.  When  he  came  near  enough,  I  saw  that 
his  countenance  was  all  in  a  glow.  I  said  to  him,  "  Good 

morning  Mr.  C .  "  Good  morning,"  he  replied.    "  And," 

said  I,  "how  do  you  feel  in  your  mind  this  morning?" 
"  Oh,  I  do  not  know,"  he  replied  ;  "I  have  had  an  awfully 
distressed  night.  But  I  could  not  pray  there  in  the  house  ; 
and  I  thought  if  I  could  get  alone,  where  I  could  pour  ont 
my  voice  with  my  heart,  I  could  pray.  In  the  morning  I 
went  into  the  woods  ;  but  when  I  got  there,"  said  he,  "I 
found  I  could  not  pray.  I  thought  I  could  give  myself  to 
Gkxl  ;  but  I  could  not.  I  tried,  and  tried,  till  I  was  discour- 


70  MEMOIRS   OF   CHAB.LE8   G.    FINNET. 

aged,"  he  continued.  "  Finally  I  saw  that  ii  was  of  no  use 
and  I  told  the  Lord  that  I  found  myself  condemned  and  lost ; 
that  I  had  no  heart  to  pray  to  him,  and  no  heart  to  repent ; 
that  I  found  I  had  hardened  myself  so  much  that  I  could 
not  give  my  heart  to  him,  and  therefore  I  must  leave  the 
whole  question  to  him.  I  was  at  his  disposal,  and  could 
not  object  to  his  doing  with  me  just  as  it  seemed  good  in 
his  eyes,  for  I  had  no  claim  to  his  favor  at  all.  I  left  the 
question  of  my  salvation  or  damnation  wholly  with  the 
Lord."  "Well,  what  followed?"  I  inquired.  "Why," 
said  he,  "I  found  I  had  lost  all  my  conviction.  I  got  up 
and  came  away,  and  my  mind  was  so  still  and  quiet  that  I 
found  the  Spirit  of  God  was  grieved  away,  and  I  had  lost  my 
conviction.  "  But,"  said  he,  "  when  I  saw  you  my  heart 
began  to  burn  and  grow  hot  within  me  ;  and  instead  of  feel 
ing  as  if  I  wanted  to  avoid  you,  I  felt  so  drawn  that  I  came 
across  the  street  to  see  you."  But  I  should  have  said  that 
when  he  came  near  me,  he  leaped,  and  took  me  right  up  in 
his  arms,  and  turned  around  once  or  twice,  and  then  set  me 
down.  This  preceded  the  conversation  that  I  have  just 
related.  After  a  little  further  conversation  I  left  him.  He 
soon  came  into  a  state  of  mind  that  led  him  to  indulge  a 
hope.  We  heard  no  more  of  his  opposition. 

At  this  place  I  again  saw  Father  Nash,  the  man  who 
prayed  with  his  eyes  open,  at  the  meeting  of  presbytery, 
when  I  was  licensed.  After  he  was  at  presbytery  he  was 
taken  with  inflamed  eyes  ;  and  for  several  weeks  was  shut 
up  in  a  dark  room.  He  could  neither  read  nor  write,  and, 
as  I  learned,  gave  himself  up  almost  entirely  to  prayer.  He 
had  a  terrible  overhauling  in  his  whole  Christian  experi 
ence  ;  and  as  soon  as  he  was  able  to  see,  with  a  double 
black  veil  before  his  face,  he  sallied  forth  to  labor  for  souls. 

When  he  came  to  Evans'  Mills  he  was  full  of  the  power 
ot  prayer.  He  was  another  man  altogether  from  what  he 
had  been  at  any  former  period  of  his  Christian  life.  I 
found  that  he  had  "  a  praying  list,"  as  he  called  it,  of  the 


PBEACHItfG  AS  A  MISSIONABT.  71 

names  of  persons  whom  he  made  subjects  of  prayer  every 
day,  and  sometimes  many  times  a  day.  And  praying  witb 
him,  and  hearing  him  pray  in  meeting,  I  found  that 
ais  gift  of  prayer  was  wonderful,  and  his  faith  almost 
oairaculous. 

There  was  a  man  by  the  name  of  D ,  who  kept  a  low 

tavern  in  a  corner  of  the  village,  whose  house  was  the  resort 
if  all  the  opposers  of  the  revival.  The  bar-room  was  a 
place  of  blasphemy  ;  and  he  was  himself  a  most  profane, 
ungodly,  abusive  man.  He  went  railing  about  the  streets 
respecting  the  revival ;  and  would  take  particular  pains  to 
swear  and  blaspheme  whenever  he  saw  a  Christian.  One  of 
the  young  converts  lived  almost  across  the  way  from  him  ; 
and  he  told  me  that  he  meant  to  sell  and  move  out  of  that 
neighborhood,  because  every  time  he  was  out  of  doors  and 

D saw  him,  he  would  come  out  and  swear,  and  curse, 

and  say  every  thing  he  could  to  wound  his  feelings.  He  had 
not,  I  think,  been  at  any  of  our  meetings.  Of  course  he  was 
ignorant  of  the  great  truths  of  religion,  and  despised  the 
whole  Christian  enterprise. 

Father  Nash  heard  us  speak  of  this  Mr.  D as  "  a 

hard  case ; "  and  immediately  put  his  name  upon  his 
praying  list.  He  remained  in  town  a  day  or  two,  and  went 
on  his  way,  having  in  view  another  field  of  labor. 

Not  many  days  afterward,  as  we  were  holding  an  evening 
meeting  with  a  very  crowded  house,  who  should  come  in  but 

this  notorious  D ?    His  entrance  created  a  considerable 

movement  in  the  congregation.  People  feared  that  he  had 
come  in  to  make  a  disturbance.  The  fear  and  abhorrence  o' 
him  had  become  very  general  among  Christians,  1  believe  ;  3 
that  when  he  came  in,  some  of  the  people  got  up  and  retired. 
I  knew  his  countenance,  and  kept  my  eye  upon  him.  I 
very  soon  became  satisfied  that  he  had  not  come  in  to  oppose, 
and  that  he  was  in  great  anguish  of  mind.  He  sat  and 
writhed  upon  his  seat,  and  was  very  uneasy.  He  soon  arose, 
and  tremblingly  asked  me  if  he  might  say  a  few  words.  ] 


71  MEMOIRS  O*  ufiABLES  G.    FQTffEY. 

told  him  that  he  might.  He  then  proceeded  to  make  one  oi 
the  most  heart-broken  confessions  that  I  almost  ever  heard. 
His  confession  seemed  to  cover  the  whole  ground  of  his 
treatment  of  God,  and  of  his  treatment  of  Christians,  and  of 
the  revival,  and  of  everything  good. 

This  thoroughly  broke   up  the  fallow  ground  in  many 
hearts.     It  was  the  most  powerful  means  that  could  have 

been  used,  just  then,  to  give  an  impetus  to  the  work.     D 

soon  came  out  and  professed  a  hope,  abolished  all  the  revelry 
and  profanity  of  his  bar-room  ;  and  from  that  time,  as  long 
as  I  staid  there,  and  I  know  not  how  much  longer,  a  prayer- 
oaeetmg  was  held  in  his  bar-room  nearly  every  night. 


OHAPTBB   VL 

BEYIYAL  AT    EYAKS*   MILLS  AND   ITS   RESULTS 

A  LITTLE  way  from  the  village  of  Evans'  Mills,  was  s 
settlement  of  Germans,  where  there  was  a  German 
church  with  several  elders,  and  a  considerable  membership, 
but  no  minister,  and  no  regular  religious  meetings.  Once  each 
year  they  were  in  the  habit  of  having  a  minister  come  up 
from  the  Mohawk  Valley,  to  administer  the  ordinances  of 
Daptism  and  the  Lord's  supper.  He  would  catechise  their 
ihildren,  and  receive  such  of  them  as  had  made  the  required 
ittainments  in  knowledge.  This  was  the  way  in  which 
they  were  made  Christians.  They  were  required  to  commi 
*o  memory  the  catechism,  and  to  be  able  to  answer  certain 
doctrinal  questions ;  whereupon  they  were  admitted  to  full 
communion  in  the  church.  After  receiving  the  communion 
they  took  it  for  granted  that  they  were  Christians,  and  that 
all  was  safe.  This  is  the  way  in  which  that  church  had 
been  organized  and  continued. 

But  mingling,  as  they  did  more  or  less,  in  the  scenes  that 
passed  in  the  village,  they  requested  me  to  go  out  there  and 
preach.  I  consented  ;  and  the  first  time  I  preached  I  took 
this  text :  "Without  holiness  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord." 

The  settlement  turned  out  en  masse;  and  the  school- 
house  where  they  worshiped  was  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity. 
They  could  understand  English  welL  I  began  by  showing 
what  holiness  is  not.  Under  this  head  I  took  everything 
that  they  considered  to  be  religion,  and  showed  that  it  was 
not  holiness  at  all  In  the  second  place  I  showed  what  holi- 
ner  3  is.  I  then  show  )d,  thirdly,  what  is  intended  by  see 
ing  the  Lord ;  and  then,  why  those  that  had  no  holineai 
4 


74  MBMOIES  OF   CHARLES   G. 

could  never  see  the  Lord — why  they  could  never  be  admitted 
to  his  presence,  and  be  accepted  of  him.  I  then  concluded 
with  such  pointed  remarks  as  were  intended  to  make  the 
subject  go  home.  And  it  did  go  home  by  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  The  sword  of  the  Lord  slew  them  on  the  right 
b.and  and  on  the  left. 

In  a  very  few  days  it  was  found  that  the  whole  settle 
ment  was  under  conviction  ;  elders  of  the  church  and  all 
were  in  the  greatest  consternation,  feeling  that  they  had  no 
holiness.  At  their  request  I  appointed  a  meeting  for  inquiry, 
to  give  instruction  to  inquirers.  This  was  in  their  harvest 
time.  I  held  the  meeting  at  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
and  found  the  house  literally  packed.  People  had  thrown 
down  the  implements  with  which  they  were  gathering  their 
harvest,  and  had  come  into  the  meeting.  As  many  were 
assembled  as  could  be  packed  in  the  house. 

I  took  a  position  in  the  centre  of  the  house,  as  I  could 
not  move  around  among  them  ;  ana  asked  them  questions, 
and  encouraged  them  to  ask  questions.  They  became  very 
much  interested,  and  were  very  free  in  asking  questions 
and  in  answering  the  questions  which  I  asked  them.  ] 
seldom  ever  attended  a  more  interesting  or  profitable  meet 
ing  than  that. 

I  recollect  that  one  woman  came  in  late,  and  sat  near  the 
door.  When  I  came  to  speak  to  her,  I  said,  "You  look 
unwell."  "Yes,"  she  replied,  "  I  am  very  sick,  I  have  been 
in  bed  until  I  came  to  meeting.  But  I  cannot  read;  and  1 
wanted  to  hear  Goa's  word  so  much  that  I  got  up  and  came 
to  meeting."  "How  did  you  come?"  1  inquired.  She  re 
plied,  "I  came  on  foot."  "How  far  is  it?"  was  the  next 
inquiry.  "We  call  it  three  miles,"  she  said.  On  inquiry  I 
found  that  she  was  under  conviction  of  sin,  and  had  a  most 
remarkably  clear  apprehension  of  her  character  and  position 
before  God.  She  was  soon  after  converted,  and  a  remarka 
ble  convert  she  was.  My  wife  said  that  she  was  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  women  in  prayer  that  she  ever  heard  pray 


REVIVAL  AT   EVAtfS'   MILLS.  75 

»nd  that  she  repeated  more  Scripture  in  her  prayers  than  anj 
person  she  ever  heard. 

I  addressed  another,  a  tall  dignified  looking  woman,  and 
asked  her  what  was  the  state  of  her  mind.  She  replied  im 
mediately  that  she  had  given  her  heart  to  God;  and  went  OD 
to  say  that  the  Lord  had  taught  her  to  read,  since  she  had 
learned  how  to  pray.  I  asked  her  what  she  meant.  She 
8-aid  she  never  could  read,  and  never  had  known  her  letters. 
But  when  she  gave  her  heart  to  God,  she  was  greatly  dis 
tressed  that  she  could  not  read  God's  word.  "But  I 
thought,"  she  said,  "that  Jesus  could  teach  me  to  read; 
and  I  asked  him  if  he  would  not  please  to  teach  me  to  read 
his  word."  Said  she,  "I  thought  when  I  had  prayed  that 
I  could  read.  The  children  have  a  Testament,  and  I  went 
and  got  it ;  and  I  thought  I  could  read  what  I  had  heard 
them  read.  But,"  said  she,  "  I  went  over  to  the  school 
ma'am,  and  asked  her  if  I  read  right;  and  she  said  I  did ; 
and  since  then,"  said  she,  "  I  can  read  the  word  of  God  for 
myself." 

I  said  no  more  ;  but  thought  there  must  be  some  mi« 
take  about  this,  as  the  woman  appeared  to  be  quite  in  earn 
est,  and  quite  intelligent  in  what  she  said.  I  took  pains, 
afterwards  to  inquire  of  her  neighbors  about  her.  They 
gave  her  an  excellent  character  ;  and  they  all  affirmed  that 
it  had  been  notorious  that  she  could  not  read  a  syllable  until 
after  she  was  converted.  I  leave  this  to  speak  for  itself  j 
there  is  no  use  in  theorizing  about  it  Such,  I  think,  were 
the  undoubted  facts. 

But  the  revival  among  the  Germans  resulted  in  the  con 
version  of  the  whole  church,  I  believe,  and  of  nearly  the 
whole  community  of  Germans.  It  was  one  of  the  most 
interesting  revivals  that  I  ever  witnessed. 

While  I  was  laboring  at  this  place,  the  presbytery 
were  called  together  to  ordain  me,  which  they  did.  Both 
churches  were  so  strengthened,  and  their  numbers  so 
greatly  increased,  that  they  soon  went  forward  and  built 


76  SC1MOIK3    OF   CHARLBS    ».    FIJOTKY. 

each  of  them  a  commodious  stone  meeting-house,  and  I 
believe  have  had  a  healthy  state  of  religion  there  since  that 
time.  I  have  not  been  there  for  many  years. 

I  have  only  narrated  some  of  the  principal  facts  that  I 
remember  as  connected  with  this  revival  But  I  would  far 
ther  say  respecting  it,  that  a  wonderful  spirit  of  prayer  pre 
vailed  among  Christians,  and  great  unity  of  feeling  The 
little  Congregational  church,  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  results 
of  the  next  evening's  preaching,  -ecovered  themselves  ;  for 
they  had  been  scattered,  discouraged,  and  confounded  the 
night  before.  They  rallied  and  took  hold  of  the  work  as 
best  they  could ;  and  though  a  feeble  and  inefficient  band, 
with  one  or  two  exceptions,  still  they  grew  in  grace,  and  in 
the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  during  that  revival 

The  German  woman  of  whom  I  have  spoken  as  being  sick 
when  she  came  to  the  meeting  of  inquiry,  united  with  the  Con- 
Tegational  church.  I  was  present  and  received  her  to  the 
Church.  A  very  affecting  incident,  I  recollect,  occurred  at 
-he  time  she  gave  a  relation  of  her  Christian  experience. 
There  was  a  mother  in  Israel  belonging  to  that  church,  by  the 

name  of  S ,  a  very  godly  woman,  of  ripe  age,  and  piety. 

We  had  been  sitting  for  a  long  time,  and  hearing  the  Barra- 
tion  of  the  experience  of  one  after  another  who  came  forward 
as  candidates  for  admission  to  the  church.  At  length  this 
German  woman  arose  and  related  her  experience.  It  was 
one  of  the  most  touching,  childlike,  interesting  Christian 
experiences  that  I  ever  listened  to.  As  she  was  going  on 

with  her  narrative  I  observed  that  old  Mrs.  S rose  up 

*rom  her  place,  and  as  the  house  was  filled,  crowded  her  way 

round  as  best  she  could.     At  first  I  supposed  she  was  going 

out  of  doors.     I  was  so  occupied  myself  with  the  woman's 

narrative,  that  I  was  barely  conscious  of  Mrs.  S 's  moving 

in  that  direction.  As  soon  as  she  came  near  to  where  the 
woman  stood  relating  her  experience,  she  stepped  forward, 
ind  threw  her  arms  around  her  neck  and  burst  into  tears, 
*nd  said,  "  God  bless  you,  my  dear  sister  I  God  bless  yon  I " 


EBYIVAL   AT   EVANS'   MILIA.  7 

The  woman  responded  with  all  her  heart ;  and  each  a  scene 
as  followed,  so  unpremeditated,  so  natural,  so  childlike,  so 
overflowing  with  love — it  melted  the  congregation  on  every 
side  to  tears.  They  wept  on  each  other's  necks.  It  was  too 
moving  a  scene  to  be  described  in  words. 

The  Baptist  minister  and  I  seldom  met  each  other,  though 
sometimes  we  were  enabled  to  attend  meeting  togethe  He 
preached  there  but  one  half  of  the  time,  and  I  the  other 
half  ;  consequently  I  was  generally  away  when  he  was  there, 
and  he  was  generally  absent  when  I  was  there.  He  was 
a  good  man,  and  worked  as  best  he  could  to  promote  the 
revival 

The  doctrines  preached  were  those  which  I  have  alwayt 
preached  as  the  Gospel  of  Christ  I  insisted  upon  the  vol 
untary  total  moral  depravity  of  the  unregenerate  ;  and  the 
unalterable  necessity  of  a  radical  change  of  heart  by  the 
Holy  Gnost,  and  by  means  of  the  truth. 

I  lai  great  stress  upon  prayer  as  an  indispensable  condi 
tion  of  promoting  the  revival.  The  atonement  of  Jesus 
Christ,  nis  divinity,  his  divine  mission,  his  perfect  life,  his 
vicarious  death,  his  resurrection,  repentance,  faith,  justifi 
cation  by  faith,  and  all  the  kindred  doctrines,  were  discussed 
as  thoroughly  as  I  was  able,  and  pressed  home,  and  were 
manifestly  made  efficacious  by  the  power  of  ihe  Holy  Ghost. 

The  means  used  were  simply  preaching,  prayer  and 
conference  meetings,  much  private  prayer,  much  personal 
conversation,  and  meetings  for  the  instruction  of  earnest 
inquirers.  These,  and  no  other  means,  were  used  for  the 
promotion  of  that  work.  There  was  no  appearance  of 
fanaticism,  no  bad  spirit,  no  divisions,  no  heresies,  no 
schisms  Neither  at  that  time,  nor  certainly  so  long  as  1 
was  acquainted  at  that  place,  was  there  any  result  of  that 
revival  to  be  lamented,  nor  any  feature  of  it  that  was  of 
questionable  effect. 

I  have  spoken  of  cases  of  intensified  opposition  to  thic 
revival  One  circumstance,  I  found,  had  prepared  the 


78  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   Q.    FIKNEY. 

people  for  this  opposition,  and  had  greatly  embittered  it 
I  found  that  region  of  country  what,  in  the  western  phrase, 
vrould  be  called,  "a  burnt  district."  There  had  been,  a  fe* 
years  previously,  a  wild  excitement  passing  through  thai 
region,  which  they  called  a  revival  of  religion,  but  which 
turned  out  to  be  spurious.  I  can  give  no  account  of  it 
except  what  I  heard  from  Christian  people  and  others.  It 
was  reported  as  having  been  a  very  extravagant  excitement  ; 
and  resulted  in  a  reaction  so  extensive  and  profound,  as  to 
leave  the  impression  on  many  minds  that  religion  was  a 
mere  delusi«»n.  A  great  many  men  seemed  to  be  settled  in 
that  conviui. ,  >n.  Taking  what  they  had  seen  as  a  specimen 
of  a  revival  of  religion,  they  felt  justified  in  opposing  any 
thing  looking  toward  the  promoting  of  a  revival. 

I  found  that  it  had  left  among  Christian  people  some 
practices  that  were  offensive,  and  calculated  rather  to  excite 
ridicule  than  any  serious  conviction  of  the  truth  of  religion. 
For  example,  in  all  their  prayer  meetings  I  found  a  custom 
prevailing  like  this:  every  professor  of  religion  felt  it  a  dutj 
to  testify  for  Christ  They  must  "  take  up  the  cross."  and 
eay  something  in  meeting.  One  would  rise  and  say  in  sub 
stance:  "  I  have  a  duty  to  perform  which  no  one  can  perform 
for  me.  I  arise  to  testify  that  religion  is  good;  though  I 
must  confess  that  I  do  not  enjoy  it  at  present  I  have  noth 
ing  in  particular  to  say,  only  to  bear  my  testimony;  and  I 
hope  you  will  all  pray  for  me. "  This  concluded,  that  person 
would  sit  down  and  anot.ner  would  rise  and  say,  about  to  the 
same  effect:  "Religioi  *s  good  ;  I  do  not  enjoy  it;  I  have 
nothing  else  to  say,  but  I  must  do  my  duty.  I  hops  you  will 
all  pray  for  me."  Thus  the  time  would  be  occupied,  and 
the  mee~Jig  would  pass  off  with  very  little  that  was  more 
interesting  than  such  remarks  as  these.  Of  course  the 
ungodly  would  make  sport  of  this. 

It  was  in  fact  ridiculous  and  repulsive.  But  the  im 
pression  was  so  rooted  in  the  puolic  mind  that  this  was  the 
way  to  hold  a  prayer  and  conference  meeting,  and  that  it 


BEYIYAL  AT   EVANS    MILLS.  79 

was  the  duty  of  every  professor  of  religion,  whenever  an  op 
portunity  was  afforded,  to  give  such  testimony  for  God,  that 
I  was  obliged,  for  the  purpose  of  getting  rid  of  it,  to  hold 
no  such  meetings.  I  appointed  every  meeting,  consequently, 
for  preaching.  When  we  were  assembled,  I  would  begin  by 
singing,  and  then  would  pray  myself.  I  would  then  call  on 
one  or  two  others  to  pray,  naming  them.  Then  i  would 
name  a  text,  and  talk  for  awhile.  Then,  when  I  saw  that 
an  impression  was  made,  I  would  stop  and  ask  one  or  two 
to  pray  that  the  Lord  might  fasten  that  on  their  minds.  I 
would  then  proceed  with  my  talk,  and  after  a  little,  stop 
again  and  ask  some  one  or  two  to  pray.  Thus  I  would  pro 
ceed,  not  throwing  the  meeting  open  at  all  for  remarks  on 
the  part  of  the  brethren  and  sisters.  Then  they  w  :.  i  go 
away  without  being  in  bondage,  feeling  that  they  had  neg 
lected  their  duty  in  not  bearing  testimony  for  God.  Thus 
most  of  our  prayer-meetings  were  not  so  in  name.  As  they 
were  appointed  for  preaching,  it  was  not  expected  that  they 
would  be  thrown  open  for  every  one  to  speak ;  and  in  this 
way  I  was  enabled  to  overcome  that  silly  method  of  holding 
meetings,  that  created  so  much  mirth  and  ridicule  on  the 
part  of  the  ungodly. 

After  the  revival  took  thorough  hold  in  this  place,  and 
those  things  occurred  that  I  have  named,  opposition  en 
tirely  ceased  so  far  as  I  could  learn.  I  spent  more  than  sii 
months  at  this  place  and  at  Antwerp,  laboring  between  the 
two  places ;  and  for  the  latter  part  of  the  time  I  heard 
nothing  of  open  opposition. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  doctrines  preached.  I  should  add, 
that  I  was  obliged  to  take  much  pains  in  giving  instruction 
to  inquirers.  The  practice  had  been,  I  believe,  universal,  to 
set  anxious  sinners  to  praying  for  a  new  heart,  and  to  using 
means  for  their  own  conversion.  Tht  directions  they  re 
ceived  either  assumed  or  implied  that  they  were  very  will 
ing  to  be  Christians,  and  were  taking  much  pains  to  per 
suade  God  to  convert  them.  I  tried  to  make  them  under- 


HBMOIK8  OF  CHABLES   6.    FINNBY. 

stand  that  God  was  using  the  means  with  them,  and  not 
they  with  Him ;  that  God  was  willing,  and  they  were  un 
willing  ;  that  God  was  ready,  and  they  were  not  ready.  In 
short,  I  tried  to  shut  them  up  to  present  faith  and  repent 
ance,  as  the  thing  which  God  required  of  them,  present  and 
instant  submission  to  his  will,  present  and  instant  accept 
ance  of  Christ.  I  tried  to  show  them  that  all  delay  wai 
only  an  evasion  of  present  duty ;  that  all  praying  for  a  new 
heart,  was  only  trying  to  throw  the  responsibility  of  their 
conversion  upon  God  ;  and  that  all  efforts  to  do  duty,  while 
they  did  not  jjive  their  hearts  to  God,  were  hypocritical  and 
delusive. 

During  tae  whole  six  months  that  I  labored  in  that 
region,  I  roae  on  horseback  from  town  to  town,  and  from 
settlement  to  settlement,  in  various  directions,  and  preached 
the  Gospel  as  I  had  opportunity.  When  I  left  Adams  my 
health  had  run  down  a  good  deal.  I  had  coughed  blood  ; 
and  at  the  time  I  was  licensed,  my  friends  thought  that  I 
could  live  but  a  short  time.  Mr.  Gale  charged  me,  when  I 
left  Adams,  not  to  attempt  to  preach  more  than  once  a  week, 
and  then  to  be  sure  not  to  speak  more  than  half  an  hour  at 
a  time.  But  instead  of  this,  I  visited  from  house  to  house, 
attended  prayer  meetings,  and  preached  and  labored  every 
day,  and  almost  every  night,  through  the  whole  season. 
Before  the  six  months  were  completed  my  health  was  entirely 
restored,  my  lungs  were  sound,  and  I  could  preach  two  hours, 
and  two  hours  and  a  half,  and  longer,  without  feeling'  the 
least  fatigue.  I  think  my  sermons  generally  averaged  nearly 
or  quite  two  hours,  I  preached  out  of  doors  ;  I  preached  in 
barns  ;  I  preached  in  school-houses  ;  and  a  glorious  revival 
spread  an  over  that  new  region  of  country. 

All  through  the  earlier  part  of  my  ministry  especially,  I 
used  to  meet  from  ministers  a  great  many  rebuffs  and  re 
proofs,  particularly  in  respect  to  my  manner  of  preaching 
I  have  said  that  Mr.  Gale,  when  I  preached  for  him  imme 
diately  after  I  was  licensed,  told  me  that,  he  should  be 


JWYIYAX  AT   EVAN'S  MILLS.  SI 

ashamed  to  have  any  one  know  that  I  was  a  pupil  of  his 
The  fact  is,  their  education  had  been  so  entirely  different 
from  mine,  that  they  disapproved  of  my  manner  of  preach 
ing,  very  much.    They  would  reprove  me  for  illustrating  my 
ideas  by  reference  to  the  common  affairs  of  men  of  different 
pursuits  around  me,  as  I  was  in  the  habit  of  doing.     Among 
farmers  and  mechanics,  and  other  classes  of  men,  I  borrowed 
my  illustrations  from  their  various  occupations.     I  tried  alsoV^ 
to  use  such  language  as  they  would  understand.     I  addressed 
them  in  the  language  of  the  common  people.     I  sought  to  \ 
express  all  my  ideas  in  few  words,  and  in  words  that  were  ; 
in  common  use. 

Before  I  was  converted  I  had  a  different  tendency.  ID 
writing  and  speaking,  I  had  sometimes  allowed  myself  to  use 
ornate  language.  But  when  I  came  to  preach  the  Gospel, 
my  mind  was  so  anxious  to  be  thoroughly  understood,  that 
I  studied  in  the  most  earnest  manner,  on  the  one  hand  to 
avoid  what  was  vulgar,  and  on  the  other  to  express  my 
thoughts  with  tne  greatest  simplicity  of  language. 

This  was  extremely  contrary  to  the  notions  which  at 
that  time  prevailed  among  ministers,  and  even  yet  prevail 
to  a  very  great  extent.  In  reference  to  my  illustrations  they 
would  say,  "  Why  don't  you  illustrate  from  events  of  ancient 
iiistory,  and  tafce  a  more  dignified  way  of  illustrating  your 
ideas  ?  "  To  this,  of  course,  I  replied,  that  if  my  illustrations 
brought  forward  anything  that  was  new  and  striking,  the 
illustration  itself  would  rather  occupy  the  minds  of  the  peo 
ple,  than  the  truth  which  I  wished  to  illustrate.  And  in 
respect  to  the  simplicity  of  my  language,  I  defended  myself 
by  saying,  that  my  object  was  not  to  cultivate  a  style  of 
oratory  that  should  soar  above  the  heads  of  the  people,  but 
to  make  myself  understood  ;  and  that  therefore  I  would  use 
any  language  adapted  to  this  end,  and  that  did  not  involve 
coarseness  or  vulgarity. 

About  the  time  that  I  left  Evans*  Mills  our  presbytery 
met,  aad  I  attended  the  meeting.     I  left  the  revival  work 
4* 


Ofc  MEMOIRS   OF  CHABLES   G. 

at  the  particular  request  of  some  brethren,  and  went  oyer  tc 
the  presbytery.  The  brethren  had  heard  of  my  manner  of 
preaching — those  of  them  who  had  not  heard  me  preach. 
The  presbytery  met  in  the  morning,  and  went  on  with  the 
transaction  of  business  ;  and  after  our  recess  for  dinner,  as 
we  assembled  in  the  afternoon,  the  mass  of  the  people  came 
together  and  filled  the  house.  I  had  not  the  remotest 
thought  of  what  was  in  the  minds  of  the  brethren  of  the 
presbytery.  I  therefore  took  my  seat  in  the  crowd,  am 
waited  for  the  meeting  of  the  presbytery  to  be  opened. 

As  soon  as  the  congregation  was  fairly  assembled,  om 
of  the  brethren  arose  and  said  :  "  The  people  have  come 
together  manifestly  to  hear  preaching  ;  and  I  move  that 
Mr.  Finney  preach  a  sermon."  This  was  seconded,  and 
unanimously  carried.  I  saw  in  a  moment  that  it  was  tlr> 
design  of  the  brethren  of  the  presbytery  to  put  me  on  trial, 
that  they  might  see  if  I  could  do  as  they  had  heard  that  I  did 
—get  up  and  preach  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  without 
any  previous  preparation.  I  made  no  apology  or  objection  tc 
preaching  ;  for  I  must  say  that  my  heart  was  full  of  it,  and 
that  I  wanted  to  preach.  I  arose  and  stepped  into  the  aisle  ; 
and  looking  up  to  the  pulpit,  I  saw  that  it  was  a  high,  small 
pulpit,  up  against  the  wall.  I  therefore  stood  in  the  aisle  and 
named  my  text :  "  Without  holiness  no  man  shall  see  the 
Lord."  The  Lord  helped  me  to  preach.  I  walked  up  and 
down  the  broad  aisle  ;  and  the  people  were  evidently  inter 
ested  and  much  moved. 

But  after  the  meeting  one  of  the  brethren  stepped  up  to 
me  and  said  :  "  Brother  Finney,  if  you  come  up  our  way,  I 
should  like  to  have  you  preach  in  some  of  our  school  districts. 
I  should  not  like  to  have  you  preach  in  our  church.  But 
we  have  got  school-houses  in  some  of  the  districts,  away 
from  the  village — I  should  like  to  have  you  preach  in  some 
of  those."  I  mention  this  to  show  what  their  ideas  were  of 
my  method  of  preaching.  But  how  completely  they  were 
in  the  dark  in  regard  to  the  results  of  that  method  of  address- 


BEVIVAL  AT  EVANS*   MILLS.  88 

ing  people  !  They  used  to  complain  that  I  let  down  the 
dignity  of  the  pulpit ;  that  I  was  a  disgrace  to  the  ministerial 
profession  ;  that  I  talked  like  a  lawyer  at  the  bar  ;  that  I 
talked  to  the  people  in  a  colloquial  manner  ;  that  I  said 
"you,"  instead  of  preaching  about  sin  and  sinners,  and  say 
ing  "  they  ;  "  that  I  said  "  hell,"  and  with  such  an  emphasis 
as  often  to  shock  the  people  ;  furthermore,  that  I  urged  the 
people  with  such  vehemence,  as  if  they  might  not  have  a 
moment  to  live ;  and  sometimes  they  complained  that  1 
blamed  the  people  too  much.  One  doctor  of  divinity  tola 
me  that  he  felt  a  great  deal  more  like  weeping  over  sinners, 
than  blaming  them.  I  replied  to  him  that  I  did  not  wonder, 
if  he  believed  that  they  had  a  sinful  nature,  and  that  sir 
was  entailed  upon  them,  and  they  could  not  help  it. 

After  I  had  preached  some  time,  and  the  Lord  had  every 
where  added  his  blessing,  I  used  to  say  to  ministers,  whenever 
they  contended  with  me  about  my  manner  of  preaching 
and  desired  me  to  adopt  their  ideas  and  preach  as  they  did, 
that  I  dared  not  make  the  change  they  desired.     I  said, 
"  Show  me  a  more  excellent  way.     Show  me  the  fruits  of 
your  ministry  ;  and  if  they  so  far  exceed  mine  as  to  give  me 
evidence  that  you  have  found  a  more  excellent  way,   I  will 
adopt  your  views.     But  do  you  expect  me  to  abandon  my 
own  views  and  practices,  and  adopt  yours,  when  you  your 
selves  cannot  deny  that,  whatever  errors  I  may  have  fallen 
into,  or  whatever  imperfections  there  may  be  in  my  preach 
ing,  in  style,  and  in  everything  else,  yet  the  results  justify  my     J 
methods  ?"     I  would  say  to  them  :  "  I  intend  to  improve    j 
all  I  can  ;  but  I  never  can  adopt  your  manner  of  preaching 
the  Gospel,  until  I  have  higher  evidence  tnat  you  are  right 
and  I  am  wrong." 

They  used  to  complain,  oftentimes,  that  I  was  guilty  of 
repetition  in  my  preaching.     I  would  take  the  same  thought    ^ 
and  turn  it  over  and  over,  and  illustrate  it  in  various  ways, 
I  assured  them  that  I  thought  it  was  necessary  to  do  so,  to 
make  myself  understood  ;  and  that  I  could  not  be  persuaded 


K  MBMOIJBLS   O?   OttARLJBB   Q.    FLNHll. 

to  relinquish  this  practice  by  any  of  their  arguments.  Then 
they  would  say,  "you  will  not  interest  the  educated  part  of 
your  congregation."  But  facts  soon  silenced  them  on  this 
point  They  found  that,  under  my  preaching,  judges,  and 
lawyers,  and  educated  men  were  converted  by  scores 
under  their  methods,  ruch  a  thing  seldom  occurred 


CHAPTER  VH 

BEMARKS   UPOK   MINISTERIAL  EDUCATIOH. 

JN  what  I  say  upon  this  subject  I  hope  my  brethren  wi)j 
not  impute  to  me  any  other  motive  than  a  kind  and 
benevolent  regard  for  their  highest  usefulness.  I  have 
always  taken  their  criticisms  kindly,  and  given  them  credit 
for  benevolent  intentions.  Now  I  am  an  old  man,  and 
many  of  the  results  of  my  views  and  methods  are  known  to 
the  public.  Is  it  out  of  place  in  me  to  speak  freely  to  the 
ministry,  upon  this  subject  ?  In  reply  to  their  objections,  I 
have  sometimes  told  them  what  a  judge  of  the  supreme  court 
remarked  to  me,  upon  this  subject.  "  Ministers,"  said  he, 
"  do  not  exercise  good  sense  in  addressing  the  people.  They 
are  afraid  of  repetition.  They  use  language  not  well  under 
stood  by  the  common  people.  Their  illustrations  are  not 
taken  from  the  common  pursuits  of  life.  They  write  in  too 
elevated  a  style,  and  read  without  repetition,  and  are  not 
understood  by  the  people.  Now,"  said  he,  "if  lawyers 
should  take  such  a  course,  they  would  ruin  themselves  and 
their  cause.  When  I  was  at  the  bar,"  he  added,  "  I  used  to 
take  it  for  granted,  when  I  had  before  me  a  jury  of  respecta 
ble  men,  that  I  should  have  to  repeat  over  my  main  positions 
about  as  many  times  as  there  were  persons  in  the  jury-box. 
I  learned  that  unless  I  did  so,  illustrated,  and  repeated,  and 
turned  the  main  points  over — the  main  points  of  law  and  of 
evidence,  I  should  lose  my  cause.  Our  object,"  he  said, 
"  in  addressing  a  jury,  is  to  get  their  minds  settled  before 
they  leave  the  jury-box ;  not  to  make  a  speech  in  language 
but  partially  understood  by  them  ;  not  to  let  ourselves  out 
tn  illustrations  entirely  above  their  apprehension ;  not  tc 


86  MEMOIRS   OF  CHARLES  G. 

display  our  oratory,  and  then  let  them  go.  We  are  set  an 
getting  a  verdict.  Hence  we  are  set  upon  being  understood. 
We  mean  to  convince  them;  and  if  they  have  doubts  as  tc 
the  law,  we  make  them  understand  it,  and  rivet  it  in  theii 
minds.  In  short,  we  expect  to  get  a  verdict,  and  to  get  it 
upon  the  spot ;  so  that  when  they  go  to  their  room,  it  will  be 
found  that  they  have  understood  us,  and  that  they  have  beep 
convinced  by  the  facts  and  arguments.  If  we  do  not  thus 
take  pains  to  urge  home  every  thought  and  every  word,  and 
every  point,  so  as  to  lodge  it  in  their  convictions,  we  are 
sure  to  lose  our  cause.  We  must  overcome  their  prejudices; 
we  must  overcome  their  ignorance  ;  we  must  try  to  overcome 
even  their  interest,  if  they  have  any,  against  our  client. 
Now,"  said  he,  "  if  ministers  would  do  this,  the  effects  of 
their  preaching  would  be  unspeakably  different  from  what 
they  are.  They  go  into  their  study  and  write  a  sermon  , 
they  go  into  their  pulpit  and  read  it,  and  those  that  listen 
to  it  but  poorly  understand  it.  Many  words  used  they  will 
not  understand,  until  they  go  home  and  consult  their  dic 
tionaries.  They  do  not  address  the  people,  expecting  to 
convince  them,  and  to  get  their  verdict  in  favor  of  Christ, 
upon  the  spot.  They  seek  no  such  object.  They  rather 
seem  to  aim  at  making  fine  literary  productions,  and  dis 
playing  great  eloquence  and  an  ornate  use  of  language."  Of 
course  I  do  not  profess,  at  this  distance  of  time,  to  give  the 
exact  language  used  by  the  judge ;  but  I  have  given  hig  re 
marks  in  substance,  as  made  to  me  at  the  time. 

I  never  entertained  the  least  hard  feeling  toward  my 
brethren  for  the  roughness  with  which  they  often  treated 
me.  I  knew  that  they  were  very  anxious  to  have  me  do 
good  ;  and  really  supposed  that  I  should  do  much  more 
good,  and  much  less  evil,  if  I  should  adopt  their  views.  But 
I  was  of  a  different  opinion. 

I  could  mention  many  facts  illustrative  of  the  views  oi 
ministers,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  they  sometimes  treated 
me.  When  I  was  preaching  in  Philadelphia,  for  example. 


MINISTEBIAL  EDUCATION.  8? 

Dr.  ,  the  celebrated  temperance  lecturer  from  Connec 
ticut,  came  there  and  heard  me  preach.  He  was  indignant 
at  the  manner  in  which  I  let  down  the  dignity  of  the  pulpit. 
His  principal  conversation,  however,  was  with  Mr.  Patter 
son,  with  whom,  at  the  time,  I  labored.  He  insisted  upon 
it  that  I  should  not  be  allowed  to  preach  till  I  had  a  minis 
terial  education ;  that  I  should  stop  preaching  and  go  to 
Princeton  and  learn  theology,  and  get  better  views  of  the 
way  in  which  the  Gospel  should  be  preached. 

Let  not  anything  I  say  on  this  subject  leave  the  impres 
sion  on  any  mind,  that  I  thought  either  my  views  or  my 
methods  perfect,  for  I  had  no  such  thought.  I  was  aware 
that  I  was  but  a  child.  I  had  not  enjoyed  the  advantages  of 
the  higher  schools  of  learning  ;  and  so  conscious  had  I  been 
all  along  that  I  lacked  those  qualifications  that  would  make 
me  acceptable,  especially  to  ministers,  and  I  feared  to  tho 
people  in  large  places,  that  I  had  never  had  any  higher 
ambition  or  purpose  than  to  go  into  the  new  settlements  and 
places  where  they  did  not  enjoy  the  Gospel.  Indeed  I  was 
often  surprised  myself,  in  the  first  years  of  my  preaching,  to 
find  it  so  edifying  and  acceptable  to  the  most  educated 
classes.  This  was  more  than  I  had  expected,  greatly  more 
than  my  brethren  had  expected,  and  more  than  I  had  dared 
to  hope  myself.  I  always  endeavored  to  improve  in  every 
thing  in  which  I  discovered  myself  to  be  in  error.  But  the 
longer  I  preached,  the  less  reason  had  I  to  think  that  my 
error  lay  in  the  direction  in  which  it  was  supposed  to  lie,  by 
my  brother  ministers. 

The  more  experience  I  had,  the  more  I  saw  the  results 
of  my  method  of  preaching,  the  more  I  conversed  with  all 
classes,  high  and  low,  educated  and  uneducated,  the  more 
was  I  confirmed  in  the  fact  that  God  had  led  me,  had  taught 
me,  had  given  me  right  conceptions  in  regard  to  the  best 
manner  of  winning  souls.  I  say  that  God  taught  me  ;  and 
I  know  it  must  have  been  so  ;  for  surely  I  never  had  obtained 
f-hese  notions  from  man.  And  I  have  often  thought  that  J 


MEMOIRS   OF   OHA&JLE8   G.    FIKNEY. 

could  say  with  perfect  truth,  as  Paul  said,  that  I  was  not 
*  taught  the  Gospel  by  man,  but  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ  him 
self.  And  I  was  taught  it  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  in  a 
manner  so  clear  and  forcible,  that  no  argument  of  my  min 
isterial  brethren,  with  which  I  was  plied  so  often  and  so 
long,  had  the  least  weight  with  me. 

I  mention  this  as  a  matter  of  duty.  For  I  am  still  sol 
emnly  impressed  with  the  conviction,  that  the  schools  are  to 
a  great  extent  spoiling  the  ministers.  Ministers  in  these 
days  have  great  facilities  for  obtaining  information  on  all 
theological  questions  ;  and  are  vastly  more  learned,  so  far 
as  theological,  historical,  and  Biblical  learning  is  concerned, 
than  they  perhaps  ever  have  been  in  any  age  of  the  world. 
Yet  with  all  their  learning,  they  do  not  know  how  to  use 
;t  They  are,  after  all,  to  a  great  extent,  like  David  in 
Saul's  armor.  A  man  can  never  learn  to  preach  except  by 
oreaching. 

But  one  great  thing  above  all  others  ministers  need,  and 
what  is  singleness  of  eye.  If  they  have  a  reputation  to 
>ecure  and  to  nurse,  they  will  do  but  little  good.  Many 
vears  ago  a  beloved  pastor  of  my  acquaintance,  left  home  for 
his  health,  and  employed  a  young  man,  just  from  the  sem 
inary,  to  fill  his  pulpit  while  he  was  absent.  This  young 
man  wrote  and  preached  as  splendid  sermons  as  he  could. 
The  pastor's  wife  finally  ventured  to  say  to  him,  "  You 
are  preaching  over  the  heads  of  our  people.  They  do  not 
understand  your  language  or  your  illustrations.  You  bring 
too  much  of  your  learning  into  the  pulpit."  He  replied, 
"  I  am  a  young  man.  I  am  cultivating  a  style.  I  am  aim 
ing  to  prepare  myself  for  occupying  a  pulpit  and  surround 
ing  myself  with  a  cultivated  congregation.  I  cannot  de 
scend  to  your  people.  I  must  cultivate  an  elevated  style." 
I  have  had  my  thought  and  my  eye  upon  this  man  ever  since. 
I  am  not  aware  that  he  is  yet  dead  ;  but  I  have  never  seen 
his  name  connected  with  any  revival,  amidst  all  the  great 
revivals  that  we  have  had.  from  vear  to  year,  since  that  time 


UINI8TBEIAL   EDUCATION.  89 

and  I  never  expect  to,  unless  his  views  are  radically  changed, 
and  unless  he  addresses  the  people  from  an  entirely  different 
stand-point,  and  from  entirely  different  m^aves. 

I  could  name  ministers  who  are  yet  alive,  old  men  like 
myself,  who  were  greatly  ashamed  of  me  when  I  first  began 
to  preach,  because  I  was  so  undignified  in  the  pulpit,  used 
;such  common  language,  addressed  the  people  with  such 
directness,  and  because  I  aimed  not  at  all  at  ornament,  or 
at  supporting  the  dignity  of  the  pulpit. 

Dear  brethren  they  were  ;  and  I  always  felt  in  the  kind 
est  manner  toward  them,  and  do  not  know  that  in  a  single 
instance  I  was  ruffled  or  angry  at  what  they  said.  I  was 
from  the  very  first  aware  that  I  should  meet  with  this  oppo 
sition  ;  and  that  there  was  this  wide  gulf  in  our  views,  and 
would  be  in  practice,  between  myself  and  other  ministers. 
I  seldom  felt  that  I  was  one  of  them,  or  that  they  regarded 
me  as  really  belonging  to  their  fraternity.  I  was  bred  a  law 
yer.  I  came  right  forth  from  a  law  office  to  the  pulpit,  and 
talked  to  the  people  as  I  would  have  talked  to  a  jury. 

It  was  very  common,  as  I  learned,  among  ministers  in 
my  earlier  years  of  preaching,  to  agree  among  themselves 
that  if  I  were  to  succeed  in  the  ministry,  it  would  bring  the 
schools  into  disrepute  ;  and  men  would  come  to  think  it 
hardly  worth  while  to  support  them  with  their  funds,  if  a 
man  could  be  accepted  as  a  successful  preacher  without 
them.  Now  I  never  had  a  thought  of  undervaluing  the 
education  furnished  by  colleges  or  theological  seminaries ; 
though  I  did  think,  and  think  now,  that  in  certain  respects 
they  are  greatly  mistaken  in  their  modes  of  training  their 
students.  They  do  not  encourage  them  to  talk  to  the  peo 
ple,  and  accustom  themselves  to  extemporaneous  addresses 
ko  the  people  in  the  surrounding  country,  while  pursuing 
their  studies.  Men  can  not  learn  to  preach  by  study  without 
practice.  The  students  should  be  encouraged  to  exercise, 
and  prove,  and  improve,  their  gifts  and  calling  of  God,  by 
going  out  into  any  places  open  to  them,  and  holding  Ohriit 


90  MEMOIB8  OF  CHARLES  G. 

up  to  the  people  in  earnest  talks.  They  must  thus  learn  tc 
preach.  Instead  of  this,  the  students  are  required  to  write 
what  they  call  sermons,  and  present  them  for  criticism  ;  to 
preach,  that  is,  read  them  to  the  class  and  the  professor. 
Thus  they  play  preaching.  No  man  can  preach  in  this 
manner.  These  so-called  sermons  will  of  course,  under  the 
criticism  they  receive,  degenerate  into  literary  essays.  The 
people  have  no  respect  for  such  sermons,  as  sermons.  This 
reading  of  elegant  literary  essays,  is  not  to  them  preaching. 
It  is  gratifying  to  literary  taste,  but  not  spiritually  edifying. 
It  does  not  mee^  the  wants  of  the  soul.  It  is  not  calculated 
to  win  souls  to  Christ.  The  students  are  taught  to  cultivate 
a  fine,  elevated  style  of  writing.  As  for  real  eloquence,  that 
gushing,  impressive,  and  persuasive  oratory,  that  naturally 
flows  from  an  educated  man  whose  soul  is  on  fire  with  his 
subject,  and  who  is  free  to  pour  out  his  heart  to  a  waiting 
and  earnest  people,  they  have  none  of  it. 

A  reflecting  mind  will  feel  as  if  it  were  infinitely  out  of 
place  to  present  in  the  pulpit  to  immortal  souls,  hanging 
upon  the  verge  of  everlasting  death,  such  specimens  of  learn 
ing  and  rhetoric.  They  know  that  men  do  not  do  so  on  any 
subject  where  they  are  really  in  earnest.  The  captain  of  a 
fire  company,  when  a  city  is  on  fire,  does  not  read  to  his 
company  an  essay,  or  exhibit  a  fine  specimen  of  rhetoric, 
when  he  shouts  to  them  and  directs  their  movements.  It  is 
a  question  of  urgency,  and  he  intends  that  every  word  shall 
be  understood.  He  is  entirely  in  earnest  with  them  ;  and 
they  feel  that  criticism  would  be  out  of  place  in  regard  to  the 
language  he  uses. 

So  it  always  is  when  men  are  entirely  in  earnest  Their 
language  is  in  point,  direct  and  simple.  Their  sentences  are 
short,  cogent,  powerful.  The  appeal  is  made  directly  for 
action  ;  and  hence  all  such  discourses  take  effect.  This  is 
the  reason  why,  formerly,  the  ignorant  Methodist  preachers, 
and  the  earnest  Baptist  preachers  produced  so  much  more 
effect  than  our  most  learned  theologians  and  divines.  The* 


MINISTERIAL   EDUCATION.  91 

do  so  now.  The  impassioned  utterance  of  a  common  ex- 
horter  will  often  move  a  congregation  far  beyond  anything 
that  those  splendid  exhibitions  of  rhetoric  can  effect.  Greai 
sermons  lead  the  people  to  praise  the  preacher.  Good 
preaching  leads  the  people  to  praise  the  Saviour. 

Our  theological  schools  would  be  of  much  greater  value 
than  they  are,  if  they  were  much  more  practical.  I  heard 
a  theological  teacher  read  a  sermon  on  the  importance  of 
extemporaneous  preaching.  His  views  on  that  subject  were 
correct ;  but  his  practice  entirely  contradicted  them.  He 
seemed  to  have  studied  the  subject,  and  to  have  attained  to 
practical  views  of  the  highest  importance.  But  yet  I  have 
never  known  one  of  his  students,  in  practice,  to  adopt  those 
views.  I  have  understood  that  he  says  that  if  he  were  to 
begin  his  life  anew  as  a  preacher,  he  would  practice  accord 
ing  to  his  present  views ;  and  that  he  laments  that  his  educa 
tion  was  wrong  in  this  respect,  and  consequently  his  practice 
has  been  wrong. 

In  our  school  at  Oberlin  our  students  have  been  led — not 
by  myself,  I  am  bound  to  say — to  think  that  they  must  write 
their  sermons  ;  and  very  few  of  them,  notwithstanding  all  I 
could  say  to  them,  have  the  courage  to  launch  out,  and  com 
mit  themselves  to  extemporaneous  preaching.  They  have 
been  told  again  and  again  :  "  You  must  not  think  to  imitate 
Mr.  Finney.  You  cannot  be  Finneys." 

Ministers  do  not  like  to  get  up  and  talk  to  the  people  ap 
best  they  can,  and  break  themselves  at  once  into  the  habit 
of  talking  to  the  people.  They  must  preach  ;  and  if  they 
must  preach  in  the  common  acceptation  of  vbe  term,  they 
must  write.  Hence,  according  to  that  view,  I  hare  ne^er 
preached.  Indeed,  people  have  often  said  to  me  :  "  Why, 
you  do  not  preach.  You  talk  to  the  people."  A  man  in 
London  went  home  from  one  of  our  meetings  greatly  con 
victed.  He  had  been  a  sceptic  ;  and  his  wife  seeing  him 
greatly  excited,  said  to  him,  "  Husband,  have  you  been  to 
hear  Mr  Finney  preach  ?  "  He  replied  :  "  I  have  been  to 


MEMOIRS  OF  CHARLES  G. 


Mr.  Pinney's  meeting.  He  don't  preach  ;  he  only 
what  other  people  preach."  This,  in  substance,  I  have  heard 
over  and  over  again.  "  Why  !  "  they  say,  "  anybody  could 
preach  as  you  do.  You  just  talk  to  the  people.  You  talk 
as  if  you  were  as  much  at  home  as  if  you  sat  in  the  parlor." 
Others  have  said  :  "  Why  it  don't  seem  like  preaching  ;  but 
it  seems  as  if  Mr.  Finney  had  taken  me  alone,  and  was  con 
versing  with  me  face  to  face." 

Ministers  generally  avoid  preaching  what  the  people 
before  them  will  understand  as  addressed  particularly  to 
them.  They  will  preach  to  them  about  other  people,  and 
the  sins  of  other  people,  instead  of  addressing  them  and 
saying,  "You  are  guilty  of  these  sins;"  and,  "The  Lord 
requires  this  of  you."  They  often  preach  about  the  Q-ospel 
'nstead  of  preaching  the  Gospel.  They  often  preach  about 
inners  instead  of  preaching  to  them.  They  studiously  avoid 
oeing  personal,  in  the  sense  of  making  the  impression  on 
ny  one  present  that  he  is  the  man.  Now  I  have  thought 
't  my  duty  to  pursue  a  different  course  ;  and  I  always  nave 
pursued  a  different  course.  I  have  often  said,  "Do  not 
think  I  am  talking  abo^t  anybody  else  ;  but  I  mean  you, 
and  you,  and  you." 

Ministers  told  me  at  first  that  people  would  never  endure 
this  ;  but  would  get  up  and  go  out,  and  never  come  to  hear 
me  again.  But  this  is  all  a  mistake.  Very  much,  in  tkis 
as  in  everything  else,  depends  on  the  spirit  in  which  it  is 
said.  If  the  people  see  that  it  is  said  in  the  spirit  of  love, 
with  a  yearning  desire  to  do  them  good  ;  if  they  cannot  call  it 
an  ebullition  of  personal  animosity,  but  if  they  see,  and  can 
not  deny  that  it  is  telling  the  truth  in  love  ;  that  it  is  com 
ing  right  home  to  them  to  save  them  individually,  there  are 
very  few  that  will  continue  to  resent  it.  If  at  the  time  they 
feel  pointed  at  and  rebuked,  nevertheless  the  conviction  is 
upon  them  that  they  needed  it,  and  it  will  surely  ultimately 
do  them  great  good. 

I  have  often  said  to  people,  when  I  saw  that  they  looked 


MINISTERIAL   EDUCATION. 

jffendcd,  "  Now  you  resent  this,  and  you  will  go  away  and 
say  that  you  will  not  come  again  ;  but  you  will.  Your  own 
convictions  are  on  my  side.  You  know  that  what  I  tell  yon 
is  true  ;  and  that  I  tell  it  for  your  own  good  ;  and  that  you 
cannot  continue  to  resent  it."  And  I  have  always  found 
^his  to  he  true. 

My  experience  has  been,  that  even  in  respect  to  personal 
popularity,  "  honesty  is  the  best  policy  "  in  a  mimsi*r :  that 
if  he  means  to  maintain  his  hold  upon  the  confidence,  and 
respect,  and  affection  of  any  people,  he  must  be  faithful  tc 
their  souls.  He  must  let  them  see  that  he  is  not  courting 
them  for  any  purpose  of  popularity,  but  that  he  is  trying  to 
save  their  souls.  Men  are  not  fools.  They  have  no  solid 
respect  for  a  man  that  will  go  into  the  pulpit  and  preach 
smooth  things.  They  cordially  despise  it  in  their  inmost 
souls.  And  let  no  man  think  that  he  will  gain  permanent 
respect,  that  he  will  be  permanently  honored  by  his  people, 
unless  as  an  ambassador  of  Christ  he  deals  faithfully  with 
their  souls. 

The  great  argument  in  opposition  to  my  views  of  preach 
ing  the  Gospel  was,  that  I  should  not  give  nearly  so  much 
instruction  to  the  peop^  as  I  should  if  I  wrote  my  sermons. 
They  said  I  would  not  study  ;  and  consequently,  although  I 
might  succeed  as  an  evangelist,  where  I  labored  but  a  few 
w-eeks  or  months  in  a  place,  still  it  would  never  do  for  a 
pastor  to  preach  extemporaneously. 

Now  I  ha^e  the  best  of  reasons  for  believing  that 
preachers  of  written  sermons  do  not  give  their  people  so 
much  instruction  as  they  think  they  do.  The  people  do  not 
remember  their  sermons.  I  have  in  multitudes  of  instances 
heard  people  complain — "I  cannot  carry  home  anything 
that  I  hear  from  the  pulpit."  They  have  said  to  me  in 
hundreds  of  instances  :  "  We  always  remember  what  we 
have  heard  you  preach.  We  remember  your  text,  and  the 
manner  in  which  yon  handled  H  •  but  written  sermons  we 
oannot  reTn«in>h*w  * 


94  MEMOIRS  OF   CHARLES  Q.    FINNEY. 

I  have  been  a  pastor  now  for  many  years — indeed,  evei 
since  1832 ;  and  I  have  never  heard  any  complaint  that  1 
did  not  instruct  the  people.  I  do  not  believe  it  is  true 
that  my  peojple  are  not  as  well  instructed,  se  far  as  pulpit 
instruction  is  concerned,  as  those  people  are  who  sit  under 
the  preaching  oi  written  sermons.  It  is  true  that  a  man 
may  write  his  sermons  without  studying  much ;  as  it  is  true 
that  he  may  preach  extemporaneously  without  much  study 
or  thought.  Many  written  sermons,  that  I  have  heard, 
manifested  anything  but  profound,  accurate  tbcugnt. 

My  habit  has  always  been  to  study  the  Gospel,  and  the 
best  application  of  it,  all  the  time  I  do  not  confine  my 
self  to  hours  and  days  of  writing  my  sermons  ;  but  my  mind 
is  always  pondering  the  truths  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  best 
ways  of  using  them.  I  go  among  the  people  and  learn  their 
wants.  Then,  in  the  light  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  I  take  a 
subject  that  I  think  will  meet  their  present  necessities.  I 
think  intensely  or.  it,  and  pray  much  over  the  subject  on 
Sabbath  mornu-g,  tor  example,  and  get  my  mind  full  of  it, 
and  then  go  and  pour  it  out  to  the  people.  Whereas  one 
great  difficulty  with  a  written  sermon  is,  that  a  man  after 
he  has  written  it,  needs  to  think  but  little  of  the  subject. 
He  needs  to  pray  but  little.  He  perhaps  reads  over  his 
manuscript  Saturday  evening,  or  Sabbath  morning  ;  but  he 
does  not  fee"'  the  necessity  of  being  powerfully  anointed, 
that  his  moiun  may  be  opened  and  filled  with  arguments, 
and  that  he  may  be  enabled  to  preach  out  of  a  full  heart. 
He  is  quite  at  ease.  He  has  only  to  use  his  eyes  and  his 
voice,  and  he  can  preach,  in  his  way.  It  may  be  a  sermon 
that  has  been  written  for  years  ;  it  may  be  a  sermon  that  he 
has  written,  every  word  of  it,  within  the  week.  But  on 
Sabbath-day  there  is  no  freshness  in  it.  It  does  not  come 
necessarily  new  and  fresh,  and  as  an  anointed  message  from 
God  to  his  heart,  and  through  his  heart  to  the  people. 

I  am  prepared  to  say,  most  solemnly,  that  I  think  I  have 
gtudied  all  the  more  for  not  having  written  my  sermons.  J 


MLBTISTEBIAL  EDUCATION  9fc 

been  obliged  to  make  the  subjects  upon  which  I 
preached  familiar  to  my  thoughts,  to  fill  my  mind  with 
them,  and  then  go  and  talk  them  off  to  the  people.  I  simply 
note  the  heads  upon  which  I  wish  to  dwell  in  the  briefest 
possible  manner,  and  in  language  not  a  word  of  which  I 
use,  perhaps,  in  preaching.  I  simply  jot  down  the  order 
of  my  propositions,  and  the  positions  which  I  propose  to 
take  ;  and  in  a  word,  sketch  an  outline  of  the  remarks  and 
.nferences  with  which  I  conclude. 

But  unless  men  will  try  it,  unless  they  will  begin  and 
talk  to  the  people,  as  best  they  cau,  keeping  their  hearts 
full  of  truth  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  they  will  never 
make  extemporaneous  preachers,  i  believe  that  half  an 
hour's  earnest  talk  to  the  people  from  week  to  week,  if  the 
talk  be  pointed,  direct,  earnest,  logical,  will  really  instruct 
them  more  than  the  two  labored  sermons  that  those  who 
write,  get  off  to  their  people  on  the  Sabbath.  I  believe  the 
people  would  remember  more  of  what  is  said,  be  more 
interested  in  it,  and  would  carry  it  away  with  them  to  be 
pondered,  vastly  more  than  they  do  what  they  get  from  the 
labored  written  sermons. 

I  have  spoken  of  my  method  of  preparing  for  the  pulpit 
in  more  recent  years.  When  I  first  began  to  preach,  and 
for  some  twelve  years  of  my  earliest  ministry,  I  wrote  not  a 
word ;  and  was  most  commonly  obliged  to  preach  without 
any  preparation  whatever,  except  what  I  got  in  prayer. 
Oftentimes  I  went  into  the  pulpit  without  knowing  upon 
what  text  I  should  speak,  or  a  word  that  I  should  say.  I 
depended  on  the  occasion  and  the  Holy  Spirit  to  suggest  the 
text,  and  to  open  up  the  whole  subject  to  my  mind ;  and 
certainly  in  no  part  of  my  ministry  have  I  preached  with 
greater  success  and  power.  If  I  did  not  preach  from  inspi 
ration,  I  don't  know  how  I  did  preach.  It  was  a  common 
experience  with  me,  and  has  been  during  all  my  ministerial 
life,  that  the  subject  would  open  up  to  my  mind  in  a  man 
ner  that  was  surprising  to  myself.  It  seemed  that  I  could 


§6  MEMOIRS   OF   CHAHLE8   Q     FLNKET. 

see  with  intuitive  clearness  just  what  I  ought  to  say ,  and 
whole  platoons  of  thoughts,  words,  and  illustrations,  came 
to  me  as  fast  as  I  could  deliver  them.  When  I  first  began 
to  make  "  skeletons,"  I  made  them  after,  and  not  before  I 
preached.  It  was  to  preserve  the  outline  of  the  thought 
which  had  beei*  given  me,  on  occasions  such  as  I  have 
just  mentioned.  I  found  when  the  Spirit  of  God  had  given 
me  a  very  clear  view  of  a  subject,  I  could  not  retain  it,  to  be 
used  on  any  other  occasion,  unless  I  jotted  down  an  outline 
of  the  thoughts.  But  after  all,  I  have  never  found  myself 
able  to  use  old  skeletons  in  preaching,  to  any  considerable 
extent,  without  remodelling  them,  and  having  a  fresh  and 
new  view  of  the  subject  given  me  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  I 
almost  always  get  my  subjects  on  my  knees  in  prayer ;  and 
it  has  been  a  common  experience  with  me,  upon  receiving  a 
subject  from  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  have  it  make  so  strong  an 
impression  on  my  mind  as  to  make  me  tremble,  so  that  ] 
could  with  ditHculty  write.  When  subjects  are  thus  given 
me  that  seem  •*}  go  through  me,  body  and  soul,  I  can  in  a 
few  moments  make  out  u  skeleton  that  shall  enable  me  to 
retain  the  view  presented  by  the  Spirit ;  and  I  find  that  such 
sermons  always  4ell  with  great  power  upon  the  people. 

Some  of  the  most  telling  sermons  that  I  have  evei 
preached  in  Oberlin,  I  have  thus  received  after  the  bell  had 
rung  for  church  ;  and  I  was  obliged  to  go  and  pour  them  ofl 
from  my  full  heart,  without  jotting  down  more  than  the 
briefest  possible  skeleton,  and  that  sometimes  not  covering 
half  the  ground  that  I  covered  in  my  sermon. 

I  tell  this,  not  boastfully,  but  because  it  is  a  fact,  and  to 
give  the  praise  to  God,  and  not  to  any  talents  of  my  own. 
Let  no  man  think  that  those  sermons  which  have  been  called 
so  powerful,  were  productions  of  my  own  brain,  or  of  my  own 
heart,  unassisted  by  the  Holy  Ghost  They  were  not  mine 
but  from  the  Holy  Spirit  in  me. 

And  let  no  man  say  that  this  is  claiming  a  higher  ingpi 
ration  than  is  promised  to  ministers,  or  than  minister* 


MINI8TEBIAL   EDUCATION.  9? 

ft  right  to  expect.  For  I  believe  that  all  ministers,  called  bj 
Christ  to  preach  the  Gospel,  ought  to  be,  and  may  be,  in 
such  a  sense  inspired,  as  to  "preach  the  Gospel  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven."  What  else  did  Christ 
mean  when  he  said,  "  Go  and  disciple  all  nations ;  and  lo  i 
I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world  ?* 
What  did  he  mean  when  he  said,  speaking  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
"  He  shall  take  of  mine  and  show  it  unto  you  ?  "  "  He  shall 
bring  all  things  to  your  remembrance,  whatsoever  I  have 
said  unto  you  ?  "  What  did  he  mean  when  he  said,  "  If  any 
man  believe  in  me,  out  of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers  of 
living  water  ? "  "  This  spake  ne  of  the  Spirit,  that  they 
which  believe  on  him  should  receive."  All  ministers  may 
be,  and  ought  to  be,  so  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit  that  all 
who  hear  them  shall  be  impressed  with  the  conviction  that 
'*  God  is  in  them  of  a  truth." 

NOTE. — Here   we   present  a   facsimile   of  one    of    Mr.   Finn«y's 
"skeletons"— taken   at   random   from   the   hundreds    which   he    hw 
left  — EDITOB 
5 


CHAPTER   VTIi. 

REVIVAL   AT   ANTWERP. 

I  MUST  now  give  some  account  of  my  labors,  and  Uiei; 
result,  at  Antwerp,  a  village  north,  of  Evans'  mills. 

I  arrived  there,  the  first  time,  in  April,  and  found  that 
no  religious  services,  of  any  kind,  were  held  in  the  town. 

The  land  in  the  township  belonged  to  a  Mr.  P ,  a  rich 

landholder  residing  in  Ogdensburgh.  To  encourage  the 
settlement  of  the  township,  he  had  built  a  brick  meeting 
house.  But  the  people  had  no  mind  to  keep  up  public 
worship,  and  therefore  the  meeting-house  was  locked  up,  and 

the  key  was  in  the  possession  of  a  Mr.  C ,  who  kept  the 

village  hotel. 

I  very  soon  learned  that  there  was  a  Presbyterian  church 
in  that  place,  consisting  of  but  few  members.  They  had, 
some  years  before,  tried  to  keep  up  a  meeting  at  the  village, 
on  Sabbath.  But  one  of  the  elders  who  conducted  their  Sab 
bath  meetings,  lived  about  five  miles  out  of  the  village,  and 
was  obliged,  in  approaching  the  village,  to  pass  through  a 
Universalist  settlement.  The  Universalists  had  broken  up 
the  village  meeting,  by  rendering  it  impossible  for  Deacon 

R ,  as  they  called  him,  to  get  through  their  settlement 

to  meeting.  They  would  even  take  off  the  wheels  of  his 
carriage  ;  and  finally  they  carried  their  opposition  so  far 
that  he  gave  up  attending  meetings  at  the  village  ;  and  all 
religious  services  at  the  village,  and  in  the  township,  so  far 
as  I  could  learn,  were  relinquished. 

I  found  Mrs.  C ,  the  landlady,  a  pious  woman. 

There  were  two  other  pious  women  in  the  village,  a  Mrs. 
H ,  the  wife  of  a  merchant,  and  a  Mrs.  R ,  the  wife 


REVIVAL   AT   ANTWERP.  99 

of  a  physician.  It  was  on  Friday,  if  I  remember  right,  thai 
I  arrived  there.  I  called  on  those  pious  women  and  asked 
them  if  they  would  like  to  have  a  meeting.  They  aaid  that 
they  would,  but  they  did  not  know  that  it  would  be  possible, 

Mrs.  H agreed  to  open  her  parlor  that  evening,  for  a 

meeting,  if  I  could  get  anybody  to  attend.  I  went  about 
and  invited  the  people,  and  secured  the  attendance,  I  think, 
of  some  thirteen  in  her  parlor.  I  preached  to  them  ;  and 
then  said,  that,  if  I  could  get  the  use  of  the  village  school - 
house,  I  would  preach  on  Sabbath.  I  got  the  consent  of 
the  trustees ;  and  the  next  day  an  appointment  was  circu 
lated  around  among  the  people,  for  a  meeting  at  the  school- 
house  Sabbath  morning. 

In  passing  around  the  village  I  heard  a  vast  amount  of 
profanity.  I  thought  I  had  never  heard  so  much  in  any 
place  that  I  had  ever  visited.  It  seemed  as  if  the  men,  in 
playing  ball  upon  the  green,  and  in  every  business  place 
that  I  stepped  into,  were  all  cursing  and  swearing  and 
damning  each  other.  I  felt  as  if  I  had  arrived  upon  the 
borders  of  hell.  I  had  a  kind  of  awful  feeling,  I  recollect, 
as  I  passed  around  the  village  on  Saturday.  The  very  at 
mosphere  seemed  to  me  to  be  poison  ;  and  a  kind  of  terror 
took  possession  of  me. 

I  gave  myself  to  prayer  on  Saturday,  and  finally  urged 
my  petition  till  this  answer  came  :  "  Be  not  afraid,  but 
speak,  and  hold  not  thy  peace  ;  for  I  am  with  thee,  and  nc 
man  shall  set  on  thee  to  hurt  thee.  For  I  have  much  people 
in  this  city."  This  completely  relieved  me  of  all  fear.  1 
found,  however,  that  the  Christian  people  there  were  really 
afraid  that  something  serious  might  happen,  if  religious  meet 
ings  were  again  established  in  that  place.  I  spent  Saturday 
very  much  in  prayer  ;  but  passed  around  the  village  enough  to 
see  that  the  appointment  that  had  been  given  out  for  preach 
ing  at  the  school-house,  was  making  quite  an  excitement. 

Sabbath  morning  I  arose  and  left  my  lodgings  in  the 
hotel ;  and  in  order  to  get  alone,  where  T  could  let  out  my 


100  MEMOIRS   OF  CHABLES   <J.    FIN  NET 

voice  as  well  as  my  heart,  I  went  up  into  the  woods  at  some 
distance  from  the  village,  and  continued  for  a  considerable 
time  in  prayer.  However,  I  did  not  get  relief,  and  went  up 
a  second  time  ;  but  the  load  upon  my  mind  increased,  and  I 
did  not  find  relief.  I  went  up  a  third  time  ;  and  then  the 
answer  came.  I  found  that  it  was  time  for  meeting,  and 
went  immediately  to  the  school-house.  I  found  it  packed  to 
its  utmost  capacity.  I  had  my  pocket  Bible  in  my  hand,  and 
read  to  them  this  text :  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he 
gave  his  only  begotten  son,  that  whosoever  believetfc  in  him 
might  not  perish  but  have  everlasting  life."  I  cannot 
remember  much  that  I  said ;  but  I  know  that  the  point  on 
tfhich  my  mind  principally  labored,  was  the  treatment  which 
God  received  in  return  for  his  love.  The  subject  affected 
my  own  mind  very  much  ;  and  I  preached  and  poured  out 
my  soul  and  my  tears  together. 

I  saw  several  of  the  men  there  from  whom  I  had,  the  da) 
before,  heard  the  most  awful  profanity.  I  pointed  them  ou 
in  the  meeting,  and  told  what  they  said — how  they  called  on 
God  to  damn  each  other.  Indeed,  I  let  loose  my  whole  hear* 
upon  them.  I  told  them  they  seemed  "to  howl  blasphemy 
about  the  streets  like  hell-hounds  ; "  and  it  seemed  to  mt 
that  I  had  arrived  "  on  the  very  verge  of  hell."  Everybody 
knew  that  what  I  said  was  true,  and  they  quailed  under  it. 
They  did  not  appear  offended ;  but  the  people  wept  about 
as  much  as  I  did  myself.  I  think  there  were  scarcely  any 
dry  eyes  in  the  house. 

Mr.  C ,  the  landlord,  had  refused  to  open  the  meet 
ing-house  in  the  morning.    But  as  soon  as  these  first  services 
losed,  he  arose  and  said  to  the  people  that  he  would  open 
the  meeting-house  in  the  afternoon. 

The  people  scattered,  and  carried  the  information  in 
every  direction  ;  and  in  the  afternoon  the  meeting-house 
was  nearly  as  much  crowded  as  the  school-house  had  been 
in  the  morning.  Everybody  was  out  at  meeting ;  and  the 
Lord  let  me  loose  upon  them  in  a  wonderful  manner.  M? 


REVIVAL    AT    ANTWEBP.  lOi 

preaching  seemed  to  them  to  be  something  new.  Indeed  it 
seemed  to  myself  as  if  I  could  rain  hail  and  love  upon  them 
at  the  same  time  ;  or  in  other  words,  that  I  could  rain  upon 
them  hail,  in  love.  It  seemed  as  if  my  love  to  God,  in  view 
of  the  abuse  which  they  heaped  upon  him,  sharpened  up  my 
mind  to  the  most  intense  agony.  I  felt  like  rebuking  them 
with  all  my  heart,  and  yet  with  a  compassion  which  thej 
could  not  mistake.  I  never  knew  that  they  accused  me  oi 
severity  ;  although  I  think  I  never  spoke  with  more  severity, 
perhaps,  in  my  life. 

But  the  labors  of  this  day  were  effectual  to  the  conviction 
of  the  great  mass  of  the  population.  From  that  day,  ap 
point  a  meeting  when  and  where  I  would,  anywhere  round 
about,  and  the  people  would  throng  to  hear.  The  work  im 
mediately  commenced  and  went  forward  with  great  power, 
I  preached  twice  in  the  village  church  on  Sabbath,  attended 
a  prayer-meeting  at  intermission,  and  generally  preached 
somewhere,  in  a  school-house  in  the  neighborhood,  at  fiv« 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

On  the  third  Sabbath  that  I  preached  there,  an  aged  man 
came  to  me  as  I  was  entering  the  pulpit,  and  asked  me  if 
would  not  go  and  preach  in  a  school-house  in  his  neighbor 
hood,  about  three  miles  distant ;  saying  that  they  had  nevei 
had  any  services  there.  He  wished  me  to  come  as  soon  as  I 
couM.  I  appointed  the  next  day,  Monday,  at  five  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon.  It  was  a  warm  day.  I  left  my  horse  at  the 
village,  and  thought  I  would  walk  down,  so  that  I  should  have 
no  trouble  in  calling  along  on  the  people,  in  the  neighbor  hood 
of  the  school-house.  However,  before  I  reached  the  place, 
having  labored  so  hard  on  the  Sabbath,  I  found  myself  very 
much  exhausted,  and  sat  down  by  the  way  and  felt  as  if  I 
could  scarcely  proceed.  I  blamed  myself  for  not  having 
taken  my  horse. 

But  at  the  appointed  hour  I  found  the  school-house  full; 
and  I  could  only  get  a  standing-place  near  the  open  door.  I 
read  a  h^nin;  and  I  cannot  call  it  singing,  for  they  seemed 


102  MEMOIRS   OP   CHARLES   Gt. 

never  to  have  had  any  church  music  in  that  place.  Howevei 
the  people  pretended  to  sing.  But  it  amounted  to  about  this 
each  one  bawled  in  his  own  way.  My  ears  had  been  culti 
vated  by  teaching  church  music  ;  and  their  horrible  discord 
distressed  me  so  much  that,  at  first,  I  thought  I  must  go  out. 
I  finally  put  both  hands  over  my  ears,  and  held  them  with 
my  full  strength.  But  this  did  not  shut  out  the  discords,  I 
stood  it,  however,  until  they  were  through  ;  and  then  I  cast 
myself  down  on  my  knees,  almost  in  a  state  of  desperation, 
and  began  to  pray.  The  Lord  opened  the  windows  of  heaven, 
and  the  spirit  of  prayer  was  poured  out,  and  I  let  my  whole 
heart  out  in  prayer. 

I  had  taken  no  thought  with  regard  to  a  text  upon  which 
to  preach  ;  but  waited  to  see  the  congregation.  As  soon  as 
I  had  done  praying,  I  arose  from  my  knees  and  said: 
'•'Up,  get  you  out  of  this  place  ;  for  the  Lord  will  destroy 
this  city."  I  told  them  I  did  not  recollect  where  that  text 
was  ;  but  I  told  them  very  nearly  where  they  would  find  it, 
and  then  went  on  to  explain  it.  I  told  them  that  there 
was  such  a  man  as  Abraham,  and  who  he  was ;  and  that 
there  was  such  a  man  as  Lot,  and  who  he  was ;  their  rela 
tions  to  each  other  ;  their  separating  from  each  other  on 
account  of  differences  between  their  herdmen  ;  and  that 
Abraham  took  the  hill  country,  and  Lot  settled  in  the  vale 
of  Sodom.  I  then  told  them  how  exceedingly  wicked 
Sodom  became,  and  what  abominable  practices  they  fell 
into.  I  told  them  that  the  Lord  decided  to  destroy  Sodom, 
and  visited  Abraham,  and  informed  him  what  he  was  about 
to  do  ;  that  Abraham  prayed  to  the  Lord  to  spare  Sodom,  if 
he  found  so  many  righteous  there  ;  and  the  Lord  promised 
to  do  so  for  their  sakes  ;  that  then  Abraham  besought  him 
to  save  it  for  a  certain  less  number,  and  the  Lord  said  he 
would  spare  it  for  their  sakes  ;  that  he  kept  on  reducing  the 
number,  until  he  reduced  the  number  of  righteous  persona 
to  ten  ;  and  God  promised  him  that,  if  he  found  ten  right 
eous  persons  in  the  city,  he  would  spare  it.  Abraham 


REVIVAL  AT  ANTWERP.  103 

ade  no  farther  request,  and  Jehovah  left  him.  But  it  was 
found  that  there  was  but  one  righteous  person  there,  and 
that  was  Lot,  Abraham's  nephew.  "  And  the  men  said  to 
Lot, hast  thou  here  any  besides  ?  Son-in-law,  and  thy  sons, 
and  thy  daughters,  and  whatsoever  thou  hast  in  the  city, 
bring  them  out  of  this  place  ;  for  we  will  destroy  this  place, 
because  the  cry  of  them  is  waxen  great  before  the  face  of 
the  Lord  ;  and  the  Lord  hath  sent  us  to  destroy  it." 

While  I  was  relating  these  facts  I  observed  the  people 
looking  as  if  they  were  angry.  Many  of  the  men  were  in 
their  shirt  sleeves ;  and  they  looked  at  each  other  and  at 
me,  as  if  they  were  ready  to  fall  upon  me  and  chastise  me 
on  the  spot.  I  saw  their  strange  and  unaccountable  looks, 
and  could  not  understand  what  I  was  saying,  that  had 
offended  them.  However  it  seemed  to  me  that  their  angei 
rose  higher  and  higher,  as  I  continued  the  narrative.  As 
soon  as  I  had  finished  the  narrative,  I  turned  upon  them 
and  said,  that  I  understood  that  they  had  never  had  a 
religious  meeting  in  that  place ;  and  that  therefore  I  had  a 
right  to  take  it  for  granted,  and  was  compelled  to  take  it 
for  granted,  that  they  were  an  ungodly  people.  I  pressed 
that  home  upon  them  with  more  and  mon  anergy,  with  my 
heart  full  almost  to  bursting. 

I  had  not  spoken  to  them  in  this  strain  of  direct  applica 
tion,  I  should  think,  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  when 
all  at  once  an  awful  solemnity  seemed  to  settle  down  upon 
them ;  the  congregation  began  to  fall  from  their  seats  in 
every  direction,  and  cried  for  mercy.  If  I  had  had  a  sword 
in  each  hand,  I  could  not  have  cut  them  off  their  seats  ag 
fast  as  they  fell.  Indeed  nearly  the  whole  congregation 
were  either  on  their  knees  or  prostrate,  I  should  think,  in 
less  than  two  minutes  from  this  first  shock  that  fell  upon 
them.  Every  one  prayed  for  himself,  who  was  able  to 
speak  at  all. 

Of  course  I  was  obliged  to  stop  preaching ;  for  they  no 
longer  paid  any  attention.  I  saw  the  old  man  who  had  in- 


104  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G.    FINNEY. 

vited  me  there  to  preach,  sitting  about  in  the  middle  of  the 
house,  and  looking  around  with  utter  amazement  I  raised 
my  voice  almost  to  a  scream,  to  make  him  hear,  and  pointing 
to  him  said,  "  Can't  you  pray  ?  "  He  instantly  fell  upon 
his  knees,  and  with  a  stentorian  voice  poured  himself  out  tc 
God  ;  but  he  did  not  at  all  get  the  attention  of  the  people, 
I  then  spake  as  loud  as  I  could,  and  tried  to  make  them  at 
tend  to  me.  I  said  to  them,  "  You  are  not  in  hell  yet ;  and 
now  let  me  direct  you  to  Christ."  For  a  few  moments  I 
tried  to  hold  forth  the  Gospel  to  them  ;  but  scarcely  any  of 
them  paid  any  attention.  My  heart  was  so  overflowing  with 
joy  at  such  a  scene  that  I  could  hardly  contain  myself.  It 
was  with  much  difficulty  that  I  refrained  from  shouting, 
and  giving  glory  to  God. 

As  soon  as  I  could  sufficiently  control  my  feelings  1 
turned  to  a  young  man  who  was  close  to  me,  and  was  en 
gaged  in  praying  for  himself,  laid  my  hand  on  his  shoulder, 
Jms  getting  his  attention,  and  preached  in  his  ear  Jesus. 
AJ  soon  as  I  got  his  attention  to  the  cross  of  Christ,  he  be 
lieved,  was  calm  and  quiet  for  a  minute  or  two,  and  then 
Droke  out  in  praying  for  the  others.  I  then  turned  to  an 
other,  and  took  the  same  course  with  him,  with  the  same 
result ;  and  then  another,  and  another. 

In  this  way  1  kept  on,  until  I  found  the  time  had  arrived 
when  I  must  leave  them,  and  go  and  fulfil  an  appointment 
in  the  village.  I  told  them  this,  and  asked  the  old  man  who 
had  invited  me  there,  to  remain  and  take  charge  of  the 
meeting,  while  I  went  to  my  appointment.  He  did  so.  But 
there  was  too  much  interest,  and  there  were  too  many 
wounded  souls,  to  dismiss  the  meeting  ;  and  so  it  was  held 
all  night  In  the  morning  there  were  still  those  there  thai 
could  not  get  away  ;  and  they  were  carried  to  a  private 
house  in  the  neighborhood,  to  make  room  for  the  school 
In  the  afternoon  they  sent  for  me  to  come  down  there,  M 
they  could  not  yet  break  up  the  meeting. 

When  I  went  down  the  second  time,  I  got  an  expla&a 


BXYTVAL  AT  ANTWERP.  106 

tion  of  the  anger  manifested  by  the  congregation  during 
the  introduction  of  my  sermon  the  day  before.  I  learned 
that  the  place  was  called  Sodom,  but  I  knew  it  not ;  and 
that  there  was  but  one  pious  man  in  the  place,  and  him 
they  called  Lot.  This  was  the  old  man  that  invited  me 
there.  The  people  supposed  that  I  had  chosen  my  subject, 
and  preached  to  them  in  that  manner,  because  they  were  so 
wicked  as  to  be  called  Sodom.  This  was  a  striking  coinci 
dence  ;  but  so  far  as  I  was  concerned,  it  was  altogether 
accidental. 

I  have  not  been  in  that  place  for  many  years.  A  few 
years  since,  I  was  laboring  in  Syracuse,  in  the  state  of  New 
York.  Two  gentlemen  called  upon  me  one  day ;  one  an 
elderly  man  ;  the  other  not  quite  fifty  years  of  age.  The 
younger  man  introduced  the  older  one  to  me  as  deacon 

W ,  elder  in  his  church  ;  saying  that  he  had  called  on  m 

to  give  a  hundred  dollars  to  Oberlin  College.  The  oldei 
man  in  his  turn  introduced  the  younger,  saying,  "  This  it 
my  minister,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cross.  He  was  converted  undei 
your  ministry."  Whereupon  Mr.  Cross  said  to  me  :  "  DC 
you  remember  preaching  at  such  a  time  in  Antwerp,  and  in 
such  a  part  of  the  town,  in  the  school-house,  in  the  after 
noon,  and  that  such  a  scene,  describing  it,  occurred  tnere  ?  " 
I  said,  "  I  remember  it  very  well,  and  can  never  forget  it 
while  I  remember  anything."  "Well,"  said  he,  "I  was 
then  but  a  young  man,  and  was  converted  in  that  meeting." 
He  has  been  many  years  a  successful  minister.  Several  of 
his  children  have  obtained  their  education  in  our  college  in 
Oberlin. 

As  nearly  as  I  can  learn,  although  that  revival  came  upon 
them  so  suddenly,  and  was  of  such  a  powerful  type,  the  oon- 
verta  were  sound,  and  the  work  permanent  and  genuine  I 
aever  heard  of  any  disastrous  reaction  as  having  taken  j~1ace, 

I  have  spoken  of  the   Universalists  having  preveix.ed 

Deacon  R from  attending  religious  meetings  on  Sabbath, 

in  the  village  of  Antwerp,  bv  taking  off  the  wheels  of  hi* 
5* 


106  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   Q.    FINNEY. 

carriage.     When  the   revival  got  its  full  strength,  Deacon 

R wanted  me  to  go  and  preach  in  that  neighborhood 

Accordingly  I  made  an  appointment  to  preach  on  a  certain 
afternoon,  in  their  schoolhouse.  When  I  arrived  I  found 

the   schoo,   house  filled,  and  Deacon  R sitting  near  a 

window,  by  a  stand  with  a  Bible  and  hymn  book  on  it.  I 
sat  down  beside  him,  then  arose  and  read  a  hymn,  and  they 
sung  after  a  fashion.  I  then  engaged  in  prayer,  and  had 
great  access  to  the  throne  of  grace.  I  then  arose  and  took 
this  text  :  "  Ye  serpents,  ye  generation  of  vipers,  how  can 
ye  escape  the  damnation  of  hell  ?  " 

I  saw  that  Deacon  R was  very  uneasy  ;  and  he  soon 

got  up  and  went  and  stood  in  the  open  door.  As  there 
were  some  boys  near  the  door,  I  supposed,  at  the  time,  that 
he  had  gone  to  keep  the  boys  still.  But  I  afterward  learned 
that  it  was  through  fear.  He  thought  that  if  they  set  upon 
me,  he  would  be  where  he  could  escape.  From  my  text  he 
concluded  that  I  was  going  to  deal  very  plainly  with  them  ; 
and  he  had  been  made  quite  nervous  with  the  opposition 
which  he  had  met  with  from  them,  and  wanted  to  keep  out 
of  their  reach.  I  proceeded  to  pour  myself  out  upon  them 
with  all  my  might  ;  and  before  I  was  through,  there  was  a 
complete  upturning  of  the  very  foundations  of  Universal  ism, 
[  think,  in  that  place.  It  was  a  scene  that  almost  equalled 
:hat  of  which  I  have  have  spoken,  in  Sodom.  Thus  the 
revival  penetrated  to  every  part  of  the  town,  and  some  of 
the  neighboring  towns  shared  in  the  blessing.  The  work 
wsi8  very  precious  in  this  place. 

When  wt  came  to  receive  the  converts,  after  a  great 
number  had  been  examined,  and  the  day  approached  for  their 
admission,  J  found  that  several  of  them  had  been  brought 
up  in  Baptist  families,  and  asked  them  if  they  would  not 
prefer  to  be  immersed.  They  said  they  had  no  choice ;  but 
their  parents  would  prefer  to  have  them  immersed.  I  told 
them  I  had  no  objection  to  immersing  them,  if  they  thought 
it  would  please  their  friends  better,  and  themselves  as  well. 


REVIVAL  AT  ANTWERP.  107 

Accordingly,  when  Sabbath  came,  I  arranged  to  baptize  by 
immersion,  during  the  intermission.  We  went  down  to  a 
stream  that  runs  through  the  place  ;  and  there  I  baptized,  I 
should  think,  a  dozen  or  more. 

When  the  hour  for  afternoon  services  arrived,  we  went  to 
the  meeting-house  ;  and  there  I  baptized  a  great  number  of 
persons  by  taking  water  in  my  hand  and  applying  it  to  the 
forehead.  The  administration  of  the  ordinance  in  the  church 
was  so  manifestly  owned  and  blessed  of  God,  as  to  do  much 
to  satisfy  the  people  that  that  mode  of  baptism  was  accepta 
ble  to  him. 

Among  the  converts  was  also  a  v-onsiderable  number 
whose  friends  were  Methodists.  On  Saturday  I  learned 
that  some  Methodist  people  were  saying  to  the  converts, 
"  Mr.  Finney  is  a  Presbyterian.  He  believes  in  the  doctrine 
of  election  and  predestination ;  but  he  has  not  preached  it 
here.  He  dare  not  preach  it,  because  if  he  should,  the  con 
verts  would  not  join  his  church."  This  determined  me  to 
preach  on  the  doctrine  of  election,  the  Sabbath  morning 
previous  to  their  joining  the  church.  I  took  my  text,  and 
went  on  to  show,  first,  what  the  doctrine  of  election  is  not , 
secondly,  what  it  is  ;  thirdly,  that  it  is  a  doctrine  of  the 
Bible  ;  fourthly,  that  it  is  the  doctrine  of  reason  ;  fifthly, 
that  to  deny  it,  is  to  deny  the  very  attributes  of  God  ;  sixthly, 
that  it  opposes  no  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  salvation  of  the 
non-elect ;  seventhly,  that  all  men  may  be  saved  if  they  will ; 
and  lastly,  that  it  is  the  only  hope  that  anybody  will  be 
saved  ;  and  concluded  with  remarks. 

The  Lord  made  it  exceedingly  clear  to  my  own  mind, 
and  so  clear  to  the  people,  that,  I  believe,  it  convinced  the 
Methodists  themselves.  I  never  heard  a  word  said  against 
it,  or  a  word  of  dissatisfaction  with  the  argument.  While  1 
was  preaching,  I  observed  a  Methodist  sister  with  whom 
I  had  become  acquainted,  and  whom  I  regarded  as  an  excel 
lent  Christian  woman,  weeping,  as  she  sat  near  the  pulpit 
stairs.  I  feared  that  I  was  hurting  her  feelings.  After  the 


^08  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G.    FINITBT. 

close  of  the  meeting,  she  remained  sitting  and  weeping 
and  I  went  to  her  and  said  to  her,  "  Sister,  I  hope  I  have 
not  injured  your  feelings."  "  No,"  said  she,  "  you  have  not 
injured  my  feelings,  Mr.  Finney ;  but  I  have  committed 
a  sin.  No  longer  ago  than  last  night,  my  husband,  who  is 
an  impenitent  man,  was  arguing  this  very  question  with  me  ; 
*nd  maintaining,  as  best  he  could,  the  doctrine  of  election," 
Said  she,  "  I  resisted  it,  and  told  him  that  it  was  not  true. 
And  now,  to-day,  you  have  convinced  me  that  it  is  true ; 
and  instead  of  forming  any  excuse  for  my  husband,  or  any 
body  else,  it  is  th*  >nly  hope  I  can  have  hat  he  will  be 
saved,  or  anybody  else."  I  heard  no  farther  objection  to 
the  converts  joining  a  church  that  believed  &  the  doctrine 
of  election. 

There  were  a  great  many  interesting  cases  of  conversion 
in  this  place  ;  and  there  were  two  very  striking  cases  01 
instantaneous  recovery  from  insanity  during  this  revival. 
As  I  went  into  meeting  in  the  afternoon  of  one  Sabbath,  I 
saw  several  ladies  sitting  in  a  pew,  with  a  woman  dressed  in 
black  who  seemed  to  be  in  great  distress  of  mind  ;  and  they 
were  partly  holding  her,  and  preventing  her  from  going 
out.  As  I  came  in,  one  of  the  ladies  came  to  me  and  told 
me  that  she  was  an  insane  woman ;  that  she  had  been  a 
Methodist,  but  had,  as  she  supposed,  fallen  from  grace ; 
which  had  led  to  despair,  and  finally  to  insanity.  Her  hus 
band  was  an  intemperate  man,  and  lived  several  miles  from 
the  village ;  and  he  had  brought  her  down  and  left  her  at 
meeting,  and  had  himself  gone  to  the  tavern.  I  said  a  few 
words  to  hex  but  she  replied  that  she  must  go  ;  that  she 
could  not  hear  any  praying,  or  preaching,  or  singing ;  that 
hell  was  her  portion,  and  she  could  not  endure  anything 
that  made  her  think  of  heaven. 

I  cautioned  the  ladies,  privately,  to  keep  her  in  her  seat, 
if  they  could,  without  her  disturbing  the  meeting.  I  then 
went  into  the  pulpit  and  read  a  hymn.  As  soon  as  the  sing- 
Ing  began,  she  struggled  hard  to  get  out  But  the  ladies 


RBVIVAL  AT   ANTWERP.  109 

obstructed  her  passage;  and  kindly  but  persistently  pro 
Tented  her  escape.  After  a  few  moments  she  became  quiet , 
but  seemed  to  avoid  hearing  or  attending  at  all  to  the  singing. 
I  then  prayed.  For  some  little  time  I  heard  her  struggling 
to  get  out ;  but  before  I  had  done  she  became  quiet,  and  the 
eongregation  was  still.  The  Lord  gave  me  a  great  spirit  of 
prayer,  and  a  text ;  for  I  had  no  text  settled  upon  before 
1  took  my  text  from  Hebrews  :  "Let  us  come  boldly  unto 
the  throne  of  grace,  that  we  may  obtain  mercy  and  find 
grace  to  help  in  time  of  need." 

My  object  was  to  encourage  faith,  in  ourselves,  and  m 
her  ;  and  in  ourselves  for  her.  When  I  began  to  pray,  she 
at  first  made  ouite  an  effort  to  get  out.  But  the  ladies 
kindly  resisted ,  snd  she  finally  sat  still,  but  held  her  head 
very  low,  and  seemed  determined  not  to  attend  to  what  I 
said.  But  as  I  proceeded  she  began  gradually  to  raise  her 
nea**,  and  to  look  at  me  from  within  her  long  black  bonnet. 
She  looked  up  more  and  more  until  she  sat  upright,  and 
looked  me  in  the  face  with  intense  earnestness.  As  I  pro 
ceeded  to  urge  the  people  to  be  bold  in  their  faith,  to  launch 
aut,  and  commit  themselves  with  the  utmost  confidence  to 
God,  through  the  atoning  sacrifice  of  our  great  High  Priest, 
j,ll  at  once  she  startled  the  congregation  by  uttering  a  loud 
shriek.  She  then  cast  herself  almost  from  her  seat,  held  hei 
head  very  low,  and  I  could  see  that  she  '*  trembled  very  ex 
ceedingly."  The  ladies  in  the  pew  with  her,  partly  supported 
her,  and  watched  her  with  manifest  prayerful  interest  and 
sympathy.  As  I  proceeded  she  began  to  look  up  again,  and 
soon  sat  upright,  with  face  wonderfully  changed,  indicating 
triumphant  joy  and  peace.  There  was  such  a  glow  upon  her 
countenance  as  I  have  seldom  seen  in  any  human  face.  Her 
jov  was  30  great  that  she  could  scarcely  contain  aerself  till 
meeting  was  over  ;  and  then  she  soon  made  everybody  under 
stand  around  her,  that  she  was  set  at  liberty.  She  glorified 
God,  and  rejoiced  with  amazing  triumph.  About  two  years 
after,  I  met  with  her,  and  found  her  still  full  of  joy  and  peace 


110  MEMOIRS    OF    CHARLES    ft.    FINNEY. 

The  other  case  of  •  ecovery  was  that  of  a  woman  who  hac 
also  fallen  into  despair  and  insanity.  I  was  not  present 
when  she  was  restored  ;  but  was  told  that  it  was  almost  or 
quite  instantaneous,  by  means  of  a  baptism  of  :he  Holy 
Spirit.  Revivals  of  religion  are  sometimes  accused  of  mak 
ing  people  mad.  The  fact  is,  men  are  naturally  mad  on  the 
subject  of  religion  ;  and  revivals  rather  restore  them,  than 
make  them  mad. 

During  this  revival,  we  heard  much  of  opposition  to  it 
from  Gouverneur,  a  town  about  twelve  miles,  I  believe, 
farther  north.  Wo  heard  that  the  wicked  threatened  to 
come  down  and  mob  us,  and  break  up  our  meetings.  How 
ever,  of  course,  we  paid  no  attention  to  that ;  and  I  mention 
it  here  only  because  I  shall  have  occasion  soon  to  notice  a 
revival  there.  Having  received  the  converts,  and  having 
labored  in  Antwerp  together  with  Evans'  Mills,  until  the 
fall  of  the  year,  I  sent  and  procured  for  them,  a  young  man 
by  the  name  of  Denning,  whom  they  settled  a«  pastor.  I 
then  iuspended  my  labors  at  Antwerp. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

RETURN   TO    EVANS*    MILLS. 

AT  this  time  I  was  earnestly  pressed  to  remain  at  Evans1 
Mills,  and  finally  gave  them  encouragement  that  I 
Tould  abide  with  them,  at  least  one  year.  Being  engaged  to 
narry,  I  went  from  there  to  Whitestown,  Oneida  county,  and 
yas  married  in  October,  1824.  My  wife  had  made  prepara 
tions  for  housekeeping  ;  and  a  day  or  two  after  our  marriage  I 
left  her,  and  returned  to  Evans5  Mills,  to  obtain  conveyance 
to  transport  our  goods  to  that  place.  I  told  her  that  she 
might  expect  me  back  in  about  a  week. 

The  fall  previous  to  this,  I  had  preached  a  few  times,  in 
the  evening,  at  a  place  called  Perch  Kiver,  still  farthei 
north-west  from  Evans'  Mills  about  a  dozen  milos.  1  spent 
one  Sabbath  at  Evans'  Mills,  and  intended  to  return  for  my 
wife,  about  the  middle  of  that  week.  But  a  messenger  from 
Perch  Kiver  came  up  that  Sabbath,  and  said  there  had  been 
a  revival  working  its  way  slowly  among  the  people  e^er  since 
I  preached  there  ;  and  he  begged  me  to  go  down  and  preach 
there,  at  least  once  more.  I  finally  sent  an  appointment  to 
be  there  Tuesday  night.  But  I  found  the  interest  so  deep 
that  I  stayed  and  preached  Wednesday  nigh\,,  and  Thursday 
night  ;  ard  I  finally  gave  up  returning  that  week,  for  my 
wife,  and  continued  to  preach  in  that  neighborhood. 

The  revival  soon  spread  in  the  direction  of  Brownville, 
a  considerable  village  several  miles,  I  think,  in  a  south 
western  direction  from  that  place.  Finally,  under  the  press 
ing  invitation  of  the  minister  and  church  at  Brown ville,  I 
went  there  and  spent  the  winter,  having  written  to  my 


11$  OLBtt  Of  U 


wife,  that  snch  were  the  circumstances  that  I  must  defei 
coming  for  her,  until  God  seemed  to  open  the  way. 

At  Brown  ville  there  was  a  very  interesting  work.  But 
still  the  church  was  in  such  a  state  that  it  was  very  difficult 
to  get  them  into  the  work.  I  could  not  find  much  that 
seemed  to  me  to  be  sound-hearted  piety  ;  and  the  policy 
jf  the  ministei  was  really  such  as  to  forbid  anything  like  a 
general  sweep  of  a  revival.  I  labored  there  that  winter 
with  great  pain,  and  had  many  serious  obstacles  to  overcome. 
Sometimes  I  would  find  that  the  minister  and  his  wife  were 
away  from  our  meetings,  and  would  learn  afterwards  that 
they  had  stayed  away  to  attend  a  party. 

I  was  the  guest  at  that  place  of  a  Mr.  B  -  ,  one  of  the 
elders  of  the  church,  and  the  most  intimate  and  influential 
friend  of  the  minister.  One  day  as  I  came  down  from  my 
room,  and  was  going  out  to  call  on  some  inquirers,  I  met 
Mr.  B  -  in  the  hall  ;  and  he  said  to  me,  "  Mr.  Finney, 
what  should  you  think  of  a  man  that  was  praying  week 
after  week  for  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  could  get  no  answer  ?  " 
I  replied  that  I  should  think  he  was  praying  from  false 
motives.  "But  from  what  motives,"  said  he,  "should  a 
man  pray  ?  If  he  wants  to  be  happy,  is  that  a  false 
motive  ?  "  I  replied,  "  Satan  might  pray  with  as  good  a 
motive  as  that  ;  "  and  then  quoted  the  words  of  the  Psalm 
ist  :  "  Uphold  me  with  thy  free  spirit.  Then  will  I  teach 
transgressors  thy  ways,  and  sinners  shall  be  converted  unto 
thee."  "  Gee  !  "  said  I,  "the  Psalmist  did  not  pray  for  the 
Holy  Spine  that  he  might  be  happy,  but  that  he  might  b€ 
useful,  and  that  sinners  might  be  converted  to  Christ"  I 
said  this  and  turned  and  went  immediately  out  ;  and  he 
turned  very  short  and  went  back  to  his  room. 

I  remained  out  till  dinner  time  ;  and  when  I  returned, 
he  met  me,  and  immediately  began  to  confess.  "  Mr. 
Finoey,"  said  he,  "I  owe  you  a  confession.  I  was  angry 
when  you  said  that  to  me  ;  and  I  must  confess  that  I  hope** 
I  should  never  see  you  again.  What  you  said,"  he  oo» 


RETUKtf  TO   EVANS*   MILLS.  IIS 

unued,  "  forced  the  conviction  upon  me,  that  I  never  had 
been  converted,  that  I  never  had  had  any  higher  motive 
than  a  mere  selfish  desire  for  my  own  happiness.  I  went 
away,"  said  he,  "  after  you  left  the  house,  and  prayed  to  God 
co  take  my  life.  I  could  not  endure  to  have  it  known  that 
I  had  always  been  deceived.  I  have  been  most  intimate  with 
our  minister.  I  have  journeyed  with  him,  and  slept  with 
him,  and  conversed  with  him,  and  have  been  more  intimate 
with  him  than  any  other  member  of  the  church  ;  and  yet  I 
saw  that  I  had  always  been  a  deceived  hypocrite.  The 
mortification  was  intolerable ;  and,"  said  he,  "I  wanted  to 
die,  and  prayed  the  Lord  to  take  my  life."  However,  he 
was  all  broken  down  then,  and  from  that  time  became  a 
new  man. 

That  conversion  did  a  great  deal  of  good.  1  might  re 
late  many  other  interesting  facts  connected  with  this  revival ; 
out  as  there  were  so  many  things  that  pained  me,  in  regard 
to  the  relation  of  the  pastor  to  it,  and  especially  of  the  pas 
tor's  wife,  I  will  forbear. 

Early  in  the  spring,  1825,  I  left  Brownville,  with  my 
torse  and  cutter,  to  go  after  my  wife.  I  had  been  absent 
six  months  since  our  marriage  ;  and  as  mails  then  were  be 
tween  us,  we  had  seldom  been  able  to  exchange  letters.  I 
drove  on  some  fifteen  miles,  and  the  roads  were  very  slippery. 
My  horse  was  smooth  shod,  and  I  found  I  must  have  his 
shoes  re-set,  I  stopped  at  Le  Kayville,  a  small  village  about 
three  miles  south  of  Evans'  Mills.  While  my  horse  waa 
being  shod,  the  people  finding  that  I  was  there,  ran  to  me, 
and  wanted  to  know  if  I  would  not  preach,  at  one  o'clock,  in 
the  school-house  ;  for  they  had  no  meeting-house. 

At  one  o'clock  the  house  was  packed  ;  and  while  I 
preached,  the  Spirit  of  God  came  down  with  great  power 
upon  the  people.  So  great  and  manifest  was  the  out-pour 
ing  of  the  Spirit,  that  in  compliance  with  their  earnest  en 
treaty  I  concluded  to  spend  the  night  there,  and  preach  again 
in  the  evening.  But  the  work  increased  more  and  mon* 


MEMOIRS   OP   CHARLES   G. 

and  in  the  evening  I  appointed  another  meeting  in  the  morn 
ing,  and  in  the  morning  1  appointed  another  in  the  evening 
and  soon  I  saw  that  I  should  not  be  able  to  go  any  farther 
after  my  wife.     I  told  a  brother  that  if  he  would  take  my 
horse  and  cutter  and  go  after  my  wife,  I  would  remain.     He 
iid  so,  and  I  went  on  preaching,  from  day  to  day,  and  from 
aight  to  night ;  and  there  was  a  powerful  revival. 

I  should  have  said  that,  while  I  was  at  Brownville,  God 
revealed  to  me,  all  at  once,  in  a  most  unexpected  manner,  the 
fact  that  he  was  going  to  pour  out  his  Spirit  at  G-ouverneur, 
and  that  I  must  go  there  and  preach.  Of  the  place  I  knew 
absolutely  nothing,  except  that,  in  that  town,  there  was  so 
much  opposition  manifested  to  the  revival  in  Antwerp,  the 
year  before.  I  can  never  tell  how,  or  why,  the  Spirit  of  God 
made  that  revelation  to  me.  But  I  knew  then,  and  I  have 
no  doubt  now,  that  it  was  a  direct  revelation  from  God  to 
me.  I  had  not  thought  of  the  place,  that  I  know  of,  for 
months  ;  but  in  prayer  the  thing  was  all  shown  to  me,  as 
clear  as  light,  that  I  must  go  and  preach  in  Gouverneur,  and 
that  God  would  pour  out  his  Spirit  there. 

Very  soon  after  this,  I  saw  one  of  the  members  of  the 
church  from  Gouverneur,  who  was  passing  through  Brown 
ville.  I  told  him  what  God  had  revealed  to  me.  He  stared 
at  me  as  if  he  supposed  that  I  was  insane.  But  I  charged 
him  to  go  home,  and  tell  the  brethren  what  I  said,  that  they 
might  prepare  themselves  for  my  coming,  and  for  the  out 
pouring  of  the  Lord's  Spirit.  From  him  I  learned  thai 
they  had  no  minister ;  that  there  were  two  churches  and 
two  meeting-houses,  in  the  town,  standing  near  together 
that  the  Baptists  had  a  minister,  and  the  Presbyterians  n- 
minister  ;  that  an  elderly  minister  lived  there  who  had  for 
merly  been  their  pastor,  but  had  been  dismissed  ;  and  tha» 
they  were  having,  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  no  regula? 
Sabbath  services.  From  what  he  said.  I  gathered  that  re 
ligion  was  in  a  very  low  state  ;  and  he  himself  was  as  cold 
is  an  iceberg. 


RETURN   TO    EVAHS'    MILLS.  115 

But  now  I  return  to  my  labors  in  Le  Rayville.  After 
jaboring  there  a  few  weeks,  the  great  mass  of  the  inhabitants 

were  converted  ;  and  among  the  rest  Judge  0 ,  a  man 

in  point  of  influence,  standing  head  and  shoulders  above  all 
the  people  around  him.  My  wife  arrived,  of  course,  a  fe^ 
days  after  I  sent  for  her ;  and  we  accepted  the  invitation  of 

Judge  C and  his  wife,  to  become  their  guests.  But 

after  a  few  weeks,  the  people  urged  me  to  go  and  preach  in 
a  Baptist  church  in  the  town  of  Rutland,  where  Rutland 
joins  Le  Ray.  I  made  an  appointment  to  preach  there  one 
afternoon.  The  weather  had  become  warm,  and  I  walked 
over,  through  a  pine  grove,  about  three  miles  to  their  place 
of  worship.  I  arrived  early,  and  found  the  house  open,  but 
nobody  there.  I  was  warm  from  having  walked  so  far,  and 
went  in  and  took  my  seat  near  the  broad  aisle,  in  the  centre 
of  the  house.  Very  soon  people  began  to  come  in  and  take 
their  seats  here  and  there,  scattered  over  the  house.  Soon 
the  number  increased  so  that  they  were  coming  continually. 
I  sat  still  ;  and,  being  a,r  entire  stranger  there,  no  person 
came  in  that  I  knew,  and  I  presume  that  no  person  that 
came  in  knew  me. 

Presently  a  young  woman  came  in,  who  had  two  or  three 
tall  plumes  in  her  bonnet,  and  was  rather  gayly  dressed. 
She  was  slender,  tall,  dignified,  and  decidedly  handsome. 
I  observed,  as  soon  as  she  came  in,  that  she  waved  her  head 
and  gave  a  very  graceful  motion  to  her  plumes.  She  came 
as  it  were  sailing  around,  and  up  the  broad  aisle  toward 
where  1  sat,  mincing  as  she  came,  at  every  step,  waving  her 
great  plumes  most  gracefully,  looking  around  just  enough 
to  see  the  impression  she  was  making.  For  such  a  place  the 
whole  thing  was  so  peculiar  that  it  struck  me  very  much. 
She  entered  a  slip  directly  behind  me,  in  which,  at  the  time, 
nobody  was  sitting.  Thus  we  were  near  together,  but  each 
occupying  a  separate  slip.  I  turned  partly  around,  and  looked 
»t  her  from  head  to  foot.  She  saw  that  I  was  observing  her 
critically,  and  looked  a  little  abashed.  In  a  low  voice  I  said 


116  JCEMOIKS   OP   CHJLRLBS  9. 

to  her,  very  earnestly,  "  Did  yon  come  in  here  to  divide  the 
worship  of  God's  house,  to  make  people  worship  you,  to  get 
their  attention  away  from  God  and  his  worship  ? "  This 
made  her  writhe  ;  and  I  followed  her  up,  in  a  voice  so  10 
thj,t  nobody  else  heard  me,  but  I  made  her  hear  me  dis 
tinctly.  She  quailed  under  the  rebuke,  and  could  not  hold 
ap  her  head.  She  began  to  tremble,  and  when  I  had  said 
enough  to  fasten  the  thought  of  her  insufferable  vanity  on 
her  mind,  I  arose  and  went  into  the  pulpit.  As  soon  as  she 
saw  me  go  into  the  pulpit,  and  that  1  was  the  minister  that 
was  about  to  preach,  her  agitation  began  to  increase— so 
much  so  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  those  around  her. 
The  house  was  soon  full,  and  I  took  a  text  and  went  on  to 
preach. 

The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  was  evidently  poured  out  on  the 
congregation  ;  and  at  the  close  of  the  sermon,  I  did  what  1 
do  not  know  1  had  ever  done  before,  called  upon  any  who 
would  give  their  hearts  to  God,  to  come  forward  and  take  the 
front  seat.  The  moment  I  made  the  call,  this  young  woman 
was  the  first  to  arise.  She  burst  out  into  the  aisle,  and 
came  forward,  like  a  person  in  a  state  of  desperation.  She 
seemed  to  have  lost  all  sense  of  the  presence  of  anybody  bu 
God.  She  came  rushing  forward  to  the  front  seats,  unti 
she  finally  fell  in  the  aisle,  and  shrieked  with  agony.  A 
large  number  arose  in  different  parts  of  the  house  and  came 
forward  ;  and  a  goodly  number  appeared  to  give  their  hearts 
to  God  upon  the  spot,  and  among  them  this  young  woman. 
On  inquiry  I  found  that  she  was  rather  the  belle  of  the 
place  ;  that  she  was  an  agreeable  girlt  but  was  regarded  by 
everybody  as  very  vain  and  dressy. 

Many  years  afterwards,  I  saw  a  man  who  called  my  atten 
tion  to  that  meeting.  I  inquired  after  this  young  woman. 
He  informed  me  that  he  knew  her  well  :  that  she  still  resided 
there,  was  married,  and  was  a  very  useful  woman  ;  and  had 
always,  from  that  time,  been  a  very  earnest  Christian. 

I  preached  a  few  times  at  this  place,  and  then  the  ques 


RETURN  TO  EVANS*  MILLS.  117 

tion  of  Gouverneur  came  up  again  ;  and  God  seemed  to  say 
to  me, "Go  to  Gouverneur  ;  the  time  has  come."  Brother 
Nash  had  come  a  few  days  before  this,  and  was  spending 
some  time  with  me.  At  the  time  of  this  last  call  to  Gou 
verneur.  I  had  some  two  or  three  appointments  ahead,  in  that 
part  of  Rutland.  I  said  therefore  to  brother  Nash,  "  You 
must  go  to  Gouverneur  and  see  what  is  there,  and  come 
back  and  make  your  report." 

He  started  the  next  morning,  and  after  he  had  been  gone 
two  or  three  days,  returned,  saying,  that  he  had  found  a 
good  many  professors  of  religion,  under  considerable  exer 
cise  of  mind,  and  that  he  was  confident  that  there  was  a 
good  deal  of  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  among  the  people  ;  but 
that  they  were  not  aware  what  the  state  of  things  really 
was.  I  then  informed  the  people  where  I  was  preaching, 
that  I  was  called  to  Gouverneur,  and  could  make  no  more 
appointments  to  preach  in  that  place.  I  requested  Brother 
Nash  to  return  immediately,  informing  the  people  that  the1? 
might  expect  me  on  a  certain  day  that  week. 


CHAPTER 

REVIVAL   AT 


BOTHER  Nash  accordingly  returned  cne  nerc  o»y,  and 
made  the  appointment  as  I  desired.  I  had  to  ride 
nearly  thirty  miles,  I  believe,  to  reach  the  plaoe.  In  the 
morning  it  rained  very  hard  ;  but  the  rain  abated  in  time 
for  me  to  ride  to  Antwerp.  While  I  was  getting  dinner  at 
that  place,  the  rain  came  on  again,  and  literally  poured,  until 
quite  late  in  the  afternoon.  It  seemed  in  the  morning  be 
fore  I  started,  and  at  noon,  that  I  should  not  be  able  to 
reach  my  appointment.  However,  the  rain  abated  again,  in 
time  for  me  to  ride  rapidly  to  Gouverneur.  [  found  that  the 
people  had  given  up  expecting  me  that  day,  in  consequence 
of  the  great  rain. 

Before  I  reached  the  village,  I  met  a  Mr.  S  -  ,  one  ol 
the  principal  members  of  the  church,  returning  from  the 
church  meeting  to  his  house,  which  I  had  just  passed.  He 
stopped  his  carriage,  and,  addressing  me,  said,  "Is  this 
Mr.  BJinney  ?  "  After  my  reply  in  the  affirmative,  he  says, 
"  Please  to  gQ  back  to  my  house,  for  I  shall  insist  on  your 
being  my  guest.  You  are  fatigued  with  the  long  ride  and 
the  roads  are  so  bad,  you  will  not  have  any  meeting  to 
night."  I  replied  that  I  must  fulfil  my  appointment,  and 
asked  him  if  the  church  meeting  had  adjourned.  He  said 
it  had  not,  when  he  left  :  and  he  thought  it  possible  I  might 
reach  the  village  before  they  would  dismiss. 

I  rode  rapidly  on,  alighted  at  the  meeting-house  door. 
and  hurried  in.  Brother  Nash  stood  in  front  of  the  pulpit, 
having  just  risen  up  to  dismiss  the  meeting.  On  seeing  me 
filter,  he  held  up  his  hands,  and  waited  till  I  c?tne  near  the 


BBVIVAL  AT   GOUYEEUBUB.  119 

pulpit,  and  then  he  took  me  right  in  his  arms.  After  thua 
embracing  me,  he  introduced  me  to  the  congregation  In  a 
word  I  informed  them  that  I  had  come  to  fulfil  my  appoint 
ment  ;  and,  the  Lord  willing,  I  would  preach  at  a  certain 
hour  which  I  named. 

When  the  hour  arrived,  the  house  was  filled.  The  people 
had  heard  enough,  for  and  against  me,  to  have  their  curiosity 
excited,  and  there  was  a  general  turning  out.  The  Lord  gave 
me  a  text,  and  I  went  into  the  pulpit  and  let  my  heart  out 
to  the  people.  The  word  took  powerful  effect.  That  was 
very  manifest  to  everybody,  I  think.  I  dismissed  the  meet 
ing,  and  that  night  got  s^me  rest. 

The  village  hotel  was  at  that  time  kept  by  a  Dr.  S , 

an  avowed  Universalist.  The  next  morning  I  went  out,  as 
usual,  to  call  on  the  people,  and  converse  with  them  about 
their  souls,  and  found  the  village  excited.  After  making  a 
few  calls,  I  dropped  into  a  tailor's  shop,  where  I  found  a 
number  of  people  discussing  the  subject  of  the  sermon  the 
night  before. 

Dr.  S ,  at  that  time,   I  had  never  heard  of ;  but  I 

found  him  among  the  number  at  this  tailor's  shop,  and 
defending  his  Universalist  sentiments.  As  I  went  in,  the 
remarks  that  were  made  immediately  opened  the  conversa 
tion  ;  and  Dr.  S stepped  forward,  manifestly  sustained 

by  the  whole  influence  of  his  comrades,  to  dispute  the  posi 
tions  that  I  had  advanced,  and  to  maintain,  as  opposed  tc 
them,  the  doctrine  of  universal  salvation.  Somebody  intro 
duced  him  to  me  ;  and  I  said  to  him,  "  Doctor,  I  should  be 
very  happy  to  converse  with  you  about  your  views  ;  but  if 
we  are  going  to  have  a  conversation,  we  must  first  agre€ 
upon  the  method  upon  which  we  are  going  to  discuss."  1 
was  too  much  used  to  discussing  with  Universalists,  to  expeef 
any  good  to  come  from  it,  unless  certain  terms  were  agreed 
upon  and  adhered  to,  in  the  discussion.  I  proposed,  there 
fore,  first  that  we  should  take  up  one  point  at  a  time,  anc*  .«• 
disouas  it  till  we  had  settled  it,  or  had  no  more  tc  say  in-  * 


120  MEMOIRS  OF  CHAKLES   G. 

it,  and  then  another,  and  another,  confining  ourselves  tc 
ttie  point  immediately  in  debate ;  secondly,  that  we  should 
not  interrupt  each  other,  but  each  one  should  be  at  liberty  to 
give  his  views  upon  the  point,  without  interruption ;  and 
thirdly,  that  there  should  be  no  cavilling  or  mere  banter, 
but  that  we  should  observe  candor  and  courtesy,  and  give  tc 
every  argument  due  weight,  on  whichsoever  side  it  was 
presented.  I  knew  they  were  all  of  one  way  of  thinking  ; 
and  I  could  easily  see  that  they  were  banded  together,  and 
had  come  together  that  morning,  for  the  sake  of  sustaining 
each  other  in  their  views. 

Having  settled  the  preliminaries,  we  commenced  the 
argument.  It  did  not  take  long  to  demolish  every  position 
that  he  assumed.  He  really  knew  but  little  of  the  Bible. 
He  had  a  way  of  disposing  of  the  principal  passages,  as  he 
remembered  them,  that  are  generally  arrayed  against  the 
doctrine  of  Universalism.  But,  as  Universalists  always  do, 
he  dwelt  mainly  on  the  utter  injustice  of  endless  punishment. 

I  soon  showed  him,  and  those  around  him.  thut  he  had 
but  slender  ground  to  stand  on,  so  far  as  the  I3ibV  was  con 
cerned  ;  and  he  very  soon  took  the  position,  that  whatever 
the  Bible  said  about  it,  endless  punishment  was  unjust;  and 
that  therefore,  if  the  Bible  threatened  men  with  endless  pun 
ishment,  it  could  not  be  true  This  settled  the  question,  so 
far  as  the  Bible  was  concerned.  In  fact  I  could  easily  see 
that  they  were  all  skeptics,  and  would  not  at  all  give  in 
because  they  saw  that  the  Bible  contradicted  their  views.  I 
then  closed  in  with  him  on  the  justice  of  endless  punishment 
I  saw  that  his  friends  became  agitated,  and  felt  as  if  ,hi» 
foundations  were  giving  away  under  them.  Pretty  soon  one 
of  them  went  out ;  and  as  I  proceeded,  another  went  out,  and 
finally  they  all  forsook  him,  seeing,  as  they  must  have  done, 
one  after  the  other,  that  he  was  utterly  wrong. 

He  had  been  their  leader  ;  and  God  gave  me  thus  an  op 
portunity  to  use  him  entirely  up,  in  the  presence  of  his 
followers.  When  he  had  nothing  more  to  say,  I  urged  upoi) 


BBVIVAL  AT  GOUVEBNEUB.  121 

him  with  warmth,  the  question  of  immediate  attention  to 
salvation,  and  very  kindly  bid  him  good  morning,  and  went 
away,  feeling  sure  that  I  should  soon  hear  from  that  con 
versation  again. 

The  doctor's  wife  was  a  Christian  woman,  and  a  member 
of  the  church.  She  told  me  a  day  or  two  after,  that  the 
Doctor  came  home  from  that  conversation  apparently  greatly 
agitated,  though  she  did  not  know  where  he  had  oeen.  He 
would  walk  the  room,  and  then  sit  down,  but  oould  not 
remain  sitting.  He  would  thus  walk  and  sit  alternately  ; 
and  she  could  see  in  his  countenance  that  he  wae  greatly 
troubled.  She  said  to  him,  ••*  Doctor,  what  is  the  matter?" 
"Nothing,"  was  his  reply.  But  his  agitation  increased; 
and  she  inquired  again,  "  Doctor,  do  tell  me  what  is  the 
matter."  She  suspected  that  he  had  somewhere  fallen  in 
with  me  ;  and  she  said  to  him,  "  Doctor,  have  you  seen  Mr. 
Finney  this  morning  ?  "  This  brought  him  to  a  stand  ;  and 
he  burst  into  tears  and  exclaimed,  "Yes!  and  he  has  turned 
my  weapons  on  my  own  head!"  His  agony  became  intense; 
and  as  soon  as  the  way  was  opened  for  him  to  speak  out,  he 
surrendered  himself  up  to  his  convictions,  and  soon  after 
expressed  hope  in  Christ.  In  a  few  days  his  companions 
were  brought  in,  one  after  the  other,  till,  I  believe,  the 
revival  made  a  clean  sweep  of  %em. 

I  have  said  that  there  was  A  Baptist  church,  and  a  Pres 
byterian,  each  having  a  meeting-house  standing  upon  the 
green,  not  far  apart ;  and  that  the  Baptist  church  had  a 
pastor,  but  the  Presbyterian  had  none.  As  soon  as  the 
revival  broke  out,  and  attracted  general  attention,  the  Bap 
tist  brethren  began  to  oppose  it.  They  spoke  against  it,  and 
used  very  objectionable  means  indeed  to  arrest  its  progress. 
This  encouraged  a  set  of  young  men  to  join  hand  in  hand,  to 
strengthet  each  other  in  opposition  to  the  work.  The 
Baptist  church  was  quite  influential ;  and  the  stand  that 
they  took  greatly  emboldened  the  opposition,  and  seemed  to 
give  it  a  peculiar  bitterness  and  strength,  as  might  be  ex- 


122  HEMOIES   OP   CHARLES   G.    FHOTEY. 

pected.      Those  young  men  seemed  to  stand  like  a  bulwark 
in  the  way  of  the  progress  of  the  work. 

In  this  state  of  things,  brother  Nash  and  myself,  after 
consultation,  made  ap  our  minds  that  that  thing  must  be 
overcome  by  prayer,  and  that  it  could  not  be  reached  in  any 
other  way.  We  therefore  retired  to  a  grove  and  gave  our 
selves  up  to  prayer  until  we  prevailed,  and  we  felt  confident 
that  no  power  which  earth  or  hell  could  interpose,  would  be 
allowed  permanently  to  stop  the  revival. 

The  next  Sabbath,  after  preaching  morning  and  after 
noon  myself — for  I  did  the  preaching  altogether,  and 
brother  Nasli  gave  himself  up  almost  continually  to  prayei 
— we  met  at  five  o'clock  in  the  church,  for  a  prayer  meeting 
The  meeting-house  was  filled.  Near  the  close  of  the  meet 
ing,  brother  Nash  arose,  and  addressed  that  company  ol 
young  men  who  had  joined  hand  in  hand  to  resist  the  revival. 
T  believe  they  were  all  there,  and  they  sat  braced  up  against 
the  Spirit  of  God.  It  was  too  solemn  for  them  really  to 
make  ridicule  of  what  they  heard  and  saw  ;  ai.c  yet  their 
brazen-facednesa  and  stiff-neckedness  were  apt»areDt  to 
everybody. 

Brother  Nash  addressed  them  very  earnestly,  and 
pointed  out  the  guilt  and  danger  of  the  ronrse  they  were 
taking.  Toward  the  close  of  his  address,  tie  waxed  exceed 
ing  warm,  and  said  to  them,  "  Now,  mark  me,  young  men  1 
G-od  will  b^eak  your  ranks  in  less  than  one  week,  either  by 
converting  some  of  you,  or  by  sending  some  of  you  to  hell. 
He  will  do  this  as  certainly  as  the  Lord  is  my  God  ! "  He 
was  standing  where  he  brought  his  hand  down  on  the  top  of 
the  pew  before  him,  so  as  to  make  it  thoroughly  jar.  He  sat 
immediately  down,  dropped  his  head,  and  groaned  with 
pain. 

The  ho»**e  was  as  still  as  death,  and  most  of  the  people 
held  down  their  heads.  I  could  see  that  the  young  men 
were  agitated.  For  myself,  I  regretted  that  brother  Nash 
had  gone  so  far.  He  had  committed  himself,  that  God 


REVIVAL   AT   GOUVBEKBUR.  123 

urould  either  take  the  life  of  some  of  them,  and  send  them 
to  hell,  or  convert  some  of  them,  within  a  week.  However, 
on  Tuesday  morning  of  the  same  week,  the  leader  of  these 
young  men  came  to  me,  in  the  greatest  distress  of  mind- 
He  was  all  prepared  to  submit ;  and  as  soon  as  I  came  to 
press  him  he  broke  down  like  a  child,  confessed,  and  mani 
festly  gave  himself  to  Christ.  Then  he  said,  "  What  shall  I 
do,  Mr.  Finney  ?  "  I  replied  "  Go  immediately  to  all  your 
young  companions,  and  pray  with  them,  and  exhort  them,  at 
once  to  turn  to  the  Lord. "  He  did  so  ;  and  before  the  week 
was  out,  nearly  if  P  fc  all  of  that  class  of  young  men,  were 
hoping  in  Christ. 

There  was  a  merchant  living  in  the  village  by  the  name 

of  S .  He  was  a  very  amiable  man,  a  gentleman,  but  a 

deist.  His  wife  was  the  daughter  of  a  Presbyterian  minister. 
She  was  his  second  wife  ;  and  his  first  had  also  been  the 
daughter  of  a,  Presbyterian  minister.  He  had  thus  mar 
ried  into  two  ministers'  families.  His  fathers-in-law  had 
taken  the  greatest  pains  to  secure  his  conversion  to  Christ. 
He  was  a  reading,  reflecting  man.  Both  of  his  fathers-in- 
la,w  were  old  «hool  Presbyterians,  and  had  put  into  his 
hands  the  class  of  books  that  presented  their  peculiar  views. 
This  had  greatly  stumbled  him  ;  and  the  more  he  had  read, 
the  more  he  was  fixed  in  his  convictions  that  the  Bible  was 
a  fable. 

His  wife  urgently  entreated  me  to  come  and  converse 
with  her  husband.  She  informed  me  of  his  views,  and  of 
the  pains  that  had  been  taken  to  lead  him  to  embrace  the 
Christian  religion.  But  she  said  ne  was  so  firmly  settled  in 
his  views,  she  did  not  know  that  any  conversation  could 
meet  the  case.  Nevertheless,  I  promised  to  call  and  see 
him,  and  did  so.  His  store  wa*  in  the  front  part  of  the 
building  in  which  they  resided.  She  went  into  the  store, 
and  requested  him  to  come  in.  He  declined.  He  said  it 
would  do  no  good  ;  that  he  had  talked  with  ministers 
enough  ;  that  he  knew  just  what  I  would  say,  beforehand. 


124  MEMOIRS   OF   CHAKLBS   <*. 

and  he  could  not  spend  the  time  ;  beside,  it  was  very  repul 

sive  to  his  feelings.     She  replied  to  him,  "  Mr.  S ,  you 

have  never  been  in  the  habit  of  treating  ministers,  whe 
called  to  see  you,  i«i  this  way.  I  have  invited  Mr.  Pinney 
to  call  and  see  you,  to  have  a  conversation  on  the  subject  of 
religion  ;  and  I  shall  be  greatly  grieved  and  mortified,  if  you 
decline  to  see  him." 

He  greatly  respected  arid  loved  his  wife ;  and  she  was 
indeed  a  gem  of  a  woman.  To  oolige  her,  he  consented  to 

come  in.     Mrs.  S introduced  me  to  him,  and  left  the 

room.     I  then  said  to  him,  "  Mr.  S ,  I  have  not  come  in 

here  to  have  any  dispute  with  you  at  all ;  but  if  you  are 
willing  to  converse,  it  is  possible  that  I  may  suggest  some 
thing  that  may  help  you  over  some  of  your  difficulties,  in 
regard  to  the  Christian  religion,  as  I  probably  have  felt  them 
all  myself."  As  I  addressed  him  in  great  kindness,  he  imme 
diately  seemed  to  feel  at  home  with  me,  and  sat  down  near 
me  and  said,  "  Now,  Mr.  Finney,  there  is  no  need  of  our 
having  a  long  conversation  on  this  point.  We  are  both  of  us 
so  familiar  with  the  arguments,  on  both  sides,  that  I  can 
state  to  you,  in  a  very  few  minutes,  just  the  objections  to  the 
Christian  religion  on  which  I  rest,  and  which  1  find  myself 
utterly  unable  to  overcome.  T  suppose  I  know  beforehand 
how  you  will  answer  them,  and  that  thv  answer  will  be 
utterly  unsatisfactory  to  me.  But  if  you  desire  it,  I  will 
state  them." 

I  begged  him  to  do  so  ;  and  he  began,  as  nearly  as  I  can 
recollect,  in  this  way  :  "You  and  I  agree  in  believing  in  the 
existence  of  G-od."  "Yes."  "Well,  we  agree  that  he  is 
"nfinitely  wise,  and  good,  and  powerful."  "Yes."  "We 
agree  that  he  has,  in  our  very  creation,  given  us  certain  irre 
sistible  convictions  of  right  and  wrong,  of  justice  and  injust 
ice."  "  Yeb."  "Well,  we  agree,  then,  that  whatever  con 
travenes  our  irresistible  convictions  of  justice,  cannot  be  from 
God."  "Yes,"  I  said.  "What,  according  to  our  irresisti 
ble  convictions,  is  neither  wise  nor  good,  cannot  be  from 


BEVIYAL  AT  OOUVEBtfBUR.  1*6 

God."  "Yes,"  I  said,  "we  agree  in  that."  "  WeU  now," 
said  he,  "the  Bible  teaches  ns  that  God  has  created  us  with 
a  sinful  nature,  or  that  we  come  into  existence  totally  sinfuj 
and  incapable  of  any  good,  and  this  in  accordance  with  cer 
tain  pre established  laws  of  which  God  is  the  author ;  that 
notwithstanding  this  sinful  nature,  which  is  utterly  incapable 
of  any  good,  God  commands  us  to  obey  him,  and  to  v*e  good, 
when  to  do  so  is  utterly  impossible  to  us  ;  and  he  commands 
this  on  pain  of  eternal  death." 

I  replied,  "  Mr.  S ,  have  you  a  Bible  ?    Will  you  not 

turn  to  the  passage  that  teaches  this  ?  "  "  Why,  there  is  no 
need  of  that,"  he  says  ;  "you  admit  that  the  Bible  teaches 
it."  "No,"  I  said,  "I  do  not  believe  any  such  thing." 
"Then,"  he  continued,  "the  Bible  teaches  that  God  has 
imputed  Adam's  sin  to  all  his  posterity  ;  that  we  inherit  the 
guilt  of  that  sin  by  nature,  and  are  exposed  to  eternal  dam 
nation  for  the  guilt  of  Adam's  sin.  Now,"  said  he,  "I 
do  not  care  who  says  it,  or  what  book  teaches  such  a  thing, 
I  know  that  such  teaching  cannot  be  from  God.  This  is 
a  direct  contradiction  of  my  irresistible  convictions  of  right 
and  justice."  "Yes,"  I  replied,  "and  so  it  is  directly  in 
contradiction  of  my  own.  But  now,"  said  I,  "where  is 
this  taught  in  the  Bible  ?  " 

He  began  to  quote  the  catechism,  as  he  had  done  before. 
"  But,"  I  replied, ' <  that  is  catechism,  not  Bible."  "  Why," 
said  he,  "you  are  a  Presbyterian  minister,  are  you  not  ?  I 
thought  the  catechism  was  good  authority  for  you."  "No," 
I  said  ;  "  we  are  talking  about  the  Bible  now — whether  the 
Bible  is  true.  Can  you  say  that  this  is  the  doctrine  of  the 
Bible  ?  *  "  Oh,"  he  said,  "  if  you  are  going  to  deny  that  it 
is  taught  in  the  Bible — why,  that  is  taking  such  ground  as  I 
never  knew  a  Presbyterian  minister  to  take."  He  then 
proceeded  to  say  that  the  Bible  commanded  men  to  repent, 
but  at  the  same  time  taught  them  that  they  could  not  repent 
it  commanded  them  to  obey  and  believe,  and  yet  at  the 
same  time  taught  them  that  this  was  impossible.  I  of  course 


i36  VKMOtRS    OP   CHARLES    G.    FOOT  BY. 

closed  with  him  again,  and  asked  him  where  these  things 
were  taught  in  the  Bible.  He  quoted  catechism  ;  bat  I 
would  not  receive  it. 

He  went  on  to  say  that  the  Bible  taught  also,  that  Christ 
lied  only  for  the  elect ;  and  yet  it  commanded  all  men  every 
where,  whether  elect  or  non-elect,  to  believe,  on  pain  of 
eternal  death.  "The  fact  is,"  said  he,  "the  Bible,  in  its 
commands  and  teachings,  contravenes  my  innate  sense  of 
justice  at  every  step.  I  cann<./<,  I  will  not  receive  it  ! " 
He  became  very  positive  and  warm.  But  I  said  to  him : 

"  Mr.  S ,  there  is  a  mistake  in  this.     These  are  not  the 

teachings  of  the  Bihle.  They  are  the  traditions  of  men 
rather  than  the  teachings  of  the  Bible."  "  Well  then," 
said  he,  "Mr.  Finney,  do  tell  me  what  you  do  believe  I" 
This  he  said  with  a  considerable  degree  of  impatience.  I 
said  to  him,  "If  you  will  give  me  a  hearing  for  a  few 
moments,  I  will  tell  you  what  I  do  believe.  1  then  began 
and  told  him  what  my  views  of  both  the  law  and  the  gospel 
were.  He  was  intelligent  enough  to  understand  me  easily 
and  quickly.  In  the  course  of  an  hour,  I  should  think,  I 
took  him  ovei  the  whole  ground  of  his  objections.  He 
became  intensely  interested  ;  and. I  saw  that  the  views  that  I 
was  presenting,  were  new  to  him. 

When  I  came  to  dwell  upon  the  atonement,  an  showed 
that  it  was  made  for  all  men — dwelt  upon  its  nature,  its 
design,  its  extent,  and  the  freeness  of  salva  ion  through 
Christ,  I  saw  his  feelings  rise,  till  at  last  he  put  both  hands 
over  his  face,  threw  his  head  forward  upon  his  knees,  *nd 
trembled  all  over  with  emotion.  I  saw  that  the  blood  rushed 
to  his  head,  and  that  the  tears  began  to  flow  freely.  I  rose 
quickly  and  left  the  room  without  saying  another  word.  1 
saw  that  an  arrow  had  transfixed  him,  and  I  expected  him 
to  be  converted  immediately.  It  turned  out  that  he  wai 
converted  before  he  left  the  room. 

Very  soon  after,  the  meeting-house  bell  tolled  for  a  prayer 
conference  meeting  ;   I  went  into  the  meeting  •  and  soon 


14EV1VA1,  AT   aOUVEltNjJJUli.  127 


after  the  meeting  commenced,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  S  -  came  in. 

His  countenance  showed  that  he  had  been  greatly  moved. 
The  people  looked  around,  and  appeared  surprised  to  see 
Mr.  S  -  come  into  a  prayer-meeting.  He  had  always 
been  in  the  habit  of  attending  worship  on  the  Sabbath,  I 
believe  ;  but  to  come  into  a  prayer-meeting,  and  that  in  the 
daytime,  was  something  new.  For  his  sake,  I  took  up  a 
good  deal  of  the  time,  at  that  meeting,  in  remarks,  to  which 
he  paid  the  utmost  attention. 

His  wife  afterward  told  me,  that  as  he  walked  home  when 
the  prayer-meeting  was  over,  he  said,  "  My  dear,  where  has 
all  my  infidelity  gone  ?  I  cannot  recall  it.  I  cannot  make 
it  look  as  if  it  had  any  sense  in  it.  It  appears  to  me  as  if  it 
always  had  been  perfect  nonsense.  And  how  I  could  ever 
have  viewed  the  subject  as  I  did,  or  respected  my  own  argu 
ments  as  I  did,  I  cannot  imagine.  It  seems  to  me,"  said  he, 
"  as  if  I  had  been  called  to  pass  judgment  on  some  splendid 
piece  of  architecture,  some  magnificent  temple  ;  and  that  as 
soon  as  I  came  in  view  of  one  corner  of  the  structure,  I  fell  into 
disgust,  and  turned  away  and  refused  to  inspect  it  farther. 
I  condemned  the  whole,  without  at  all  regarding  its  propor 
tions.  Just  so  I  have  treated  the  government  of  God."  She 
said  he  had  always  been  particularly  bitter  against  the  doc 
trine  of  endless  punishment.  But  on  this  occasion,  as  they 
were  walking  home,  he  said  that,  for  the  manner  in  which 
he  had  treated  God,  he  deserved  endless  damnation. 

His  conversion  was  very  clear  and  decided.  He  warmly 
espoused  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  enlisted  heartily  in  the 
promotion  of  the  revival.  He  joined  the  church,  and  soon 
after  became  a  deacon  ;  and  to  the  day  of  his  death,  as  I 
have  been  told,  was  a  very  useful  man. 

After  the  conversion  of  Mr.  S  -  ,  and  of  that  class  of 
young  men  to  whom  I  have  alluded,  I  thought  it  was  time, 
Lf  possible,  to  put  a  stop  to  the  opposition  of  the  Baptis? 
ehurch  and  minister.  I  therefore  had  an  interview  firs? 
with  a  deacon  of  the  Baptist  church,  who  had  been  ve* 


i28  MEM01ES   OF   CHARLES   G. 

bitter  in  his  opposition ;  and  said  to  him,  "  Now  you  have 
carried  your  opposition  far  enough.  You  must  be  satisfied 
that  this  is  the  work  of  God.  I  have  made  no  allusion  in 
public  to  your  opposition,  and  I  do  not  wish  to  do  so,  or 
to  appear  to  know  that  there  is  any  such  thing ,  but  yon 
have  gone  far  enough  ;  and  I  shall  feel  it  my  duty,  if  you  do 
not  stop  immediately,  to  take  you  in  hand,  and  expose  your 
opposition  from  the  pulpit."  Things  had  got  into  such  a 
state  that  I  was  sure  that  both  God  and  the  public  would 
sustain  me  in  carrying  out  the  measure  that  I  proposed. 

He  confessed,  and  said  that  he  was  sorry  ;  and  promised 
that  he  would  make  confession,  and  that  he  would  not 
oppose  the  work  any  more.  He  said  that  he  had  made  a 
great  mistake,  and  had  been  deceived  ;  but  that  he  also  had 
been  very  wicked  about  it.  He  then  went  after  his  minis- 
ter  ;  and  I  had  a  long  conversation  with  them  together.  The 
minister  confessed  that  he  had  been  all  wrong  ;  that  he  had 
been  deceived,  and  had  been  wicked  ;  and  that  his  sec 
tarian  feeling  had  carried  him  too  far.  He  hoped  that  I 
would  forgive  him,  and  prayed  God  to  forgive  him.  I  told 
him  that  I  should  take  no  notice  whatever  of  £he  opposition 
of  his  church,  provided  they  stopped  it ;  which  they  prom 
ised  to  do. 

But  I  then  said  to  him,  "  Now  a  considerable  number 
of  the  young  people,  whose  parents  belong  to  your  church, 
have  been  converted."  If  I  recollect  right,  as  many  as 
forty  of  their  young  people  had  been  converted  in  that 
revival.  "  Now,"  said  I,  "if  you  go  to  proselyting,  that 
will  create  a  sectarian  feeling  in  both  churches,  and  will 
be  worse  than  any  opposition  which  you  have  offered."  I 
said  to  him,  "  In  spite  of  your  opposition,  the  work  has  gone 
on  ;  because  the  Presbyterian  brethren  have  kept  clear  of  a 
sectarian  spirit,  and  have  had  the  spirit  of  prayer.  But  if 
you  go  to  proselyting,  it  will  destroy  the  spirit  of  prayer, 
and  will  stop  the  revival  immediately."  He  knew  it,  he 
and  therefore  he  would  say  nothing  about  receiving 


REVIVAL  AT  GOUVERtfEUK.  18& 

any  of  the  converts,  and  would  not  open  the  doors  of  the 
church  for  their  reception,  until  the  revival  was  over  ;  and 
then,  without  any  proselyting,  let  the  converts  all  join 
which  church  they  pleased. 

This  was  on  Friday.  The  next  day,  Saturday,  was  the 
day  for  their  monthly  covenant  meeting.  When  they  had 
gathered,  instead  of  keeping  his  word,  he  threw  the  doors  of 
the  church  open  and  invited  the  converts  to  come  forward 
and  tell  their  experience  and  join  the  church.  As  many  as 
could  be  persuaded  to  do  so,  told  their  experience  ;  and  the 
next  day  there  was  a  great  parade  in  baptizing  them.  The 
minister  sent  off  immediately,  and  secured  the  help  of  one  of 
lie  most  proselyting  Baptist  ministers  that  I  ever  knew. 
2e  came  in  and  began  to  preach  and  lecture  on  baptism. 

They  traversed  the  town  for  converts  in  every  direction  t 
and  whenever  they  could  find  any  one  to  join,  they  would 
*et  up  a  procession,  and  march,  and  sing,  and  make  a 
great  parade  in  going  to  the  water  and  baptizing  them. 
This  soon  so  grieved  the  Presbyterian  church,  as  to  destroy 
fcheir  spirit  of  prayer  and  faith,  and  the  work  came  to  a  dead 
stand.  For  six  weeks  there  was  not  a  single  conversion. 
All,  both  saints  and  sinners,  were  discussing  the  question  oi 
baptism. 

There  was  a  considerable  number  of  men,  and  some  of 
them  prominent  men,  in  the  village,  that  had  been  under 
strong  conviction,  and  appeared  to  be  near  conversion,  who 
had  been  entirely  diverted  by  this  discussion  of  baptism ; 
and  indeed,  this  seemed  to  be  the  universal  effect.  Every 
body  could  see  that  the  revival  had  stopped  ;  and  that  the 
Baptists,  although  they  had  opposed  the  revival  from  the 
beginning,  were  bent  upon  having  all  the  converts  join  their 
church.  However,  I  think  that  a  majority  of  those  con 
verted,  could  not  be  persuaded  to  be  immersed,  although 
nothing  had  been  said  to  them  on  the  other  side. 

1  finally  said  to  the  people  on  the  Sabbath,  "  You  see  how 
rt  10 — that  the  work  of  conversion  is  suspended,  and  we  do  no* 
6* 


130  MEMOIRS  OF   CHARLES  G.    FINNBY. 

know  that  a  conversion  has  occurred  now  for  six  weeks 
and  you  know  the  reason."  I  did  not  tell  them,  at  all,  how 
the  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  had  violated  his  word,  nor 
did  I  allude  to  it ;  for  I  knew  that  it  would  do  no  good,  but 
much  hurt,  to  inform  the  people  that  he  had  been  guilty  of 
taking  such  a  course.  But  I  said  to  them,  "Now  I  do  not 
want  to  take  up  a  Sabbath  in  preaching  on  this  subject ;  but 
if  you  will  come  on  Wednesday  afternoon  at  one  o'clock,  and 
bring  your  Bibles,  and  your  lead  pencils  to  mark  the  passages, 
I  will  read  to  you  all  the  passages  in  the  Bible  that  relate  to 
the  mode  of  baptism ;  and  I  will  give  you  as  nearly  as  I  un 
derstand  them,  the  views  of  our  Baptist  brethren  on  all  those 
^assages,  together  with  my  own  ;  and  you  shall  judge  for 
yourselves  where  the  truth  lies. 

When  Wednesday  came,  the  house  was  crowded.  I  saw 
quite  a  number  of  the  Baptist  brethren  present.  I  began 
and  read,  first  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  then  in  the  New, 
all  the  passages  that  had  any  reference  to  the  mode  of  bap 
tism,  so  far  as  I  knew.  I  gave  the  views  that  the  Baptists 
had  of  those  texts,  and  the  reasons  for  their  views.  I  then 
gave  my  own  views,  and  my  reasons  for  them.  I  saw  that 
the  impression  was  decided  and  good,  and  that  no  bad  spirit 
prevailed  ;  and  the  people  appeared  satisfied  in  regard  to 
the  mode  of  baptism.  The  Baptist  brethren,  so  far  as  I 
know,  were  quite  satisfied  that  I  stated  their  views  fairly, 
and  as  strongly  as  they  could  state  them  themselves,  and  also 
their  reasons  for  them.  Before  I  dismissed  the  meeting  I 
gaid,  "If  you  will  come  to-morrow,  at  the  same  hour,  a* 
one  o'clock,  I  will  read  to  you  all  the  passages  in  the  Bible 
that  relate  to  the  subjects  of  baptism,  and  pursue  the  same 
course  as  I  have  done  to-day." 

The  next  day  the  house  was  crowded,  if  possible  more 
than  the  day  before.  Quite  a  number  of  the  principal  Bap 
tist  brethren  were  present ;  and  I  observed  the  old  elder, 
the  great  proselyter,  sitting  in  the  congregation.  After 
going  through  with  the  introductory  services,  I  arose 


REVIVAL  AT   GOUVEENBUE.  131 

commenced  my  reading.  At  this  point  the  elder  arose  and 
said,  "Mr.  Finney,  I  have  an  appointment,  and  cannot 
stay  to  hear  your  readings.  But  I  shall  wish  to  answer  you  ; 
and  how  shall  I  know  what  course  you  take  ?  "  I  replied 
to  him  :  "  Elder,  I  have  before  me  a  little  skeleton,  where 
in  I  quote  all  the  passages  that  I  shall  read,  and  note  the 
order  in  which  I  discuss  the  subject.  You  can  have  my 
skeleton,  if  you  please,  and  reply  to  it. "  He  then  went  out, 
and,  as  I  supposed,  went  away  to  attend  his  appointment. 

I  then  took  up  the  covenant  made  with  Abraham  ;  and 
read  every  thing  in  the  Old  Testament  that  directly  bore 
upon  the  question  of  the  relation  of  families  and  of  children, 
to  that  covenant.  I  gave  the  Baptist  view  of  the  passages 
that  I  read,  together  with  iny  own,  with  the  reasons  on  both 
sides,  as  I  had  done  the  day  before.  I  then  took  up  the 
New  Testament,  and  went  through  with  all  the  passages  in 
tkat,  referring  to  the  subject.  The  people  waxed  very  mel 
low  ;  and  the  tears  flowed  very  freely  when  I  held  up  that 
covenant,  as  still  the  covenant  which  God  makes  with  parents 
and  their  household.  The  congregation  was  much  moved 
and  melted. 

Just  before  I  was  through,  the  deacon  of  the  Presby 
terian  church  had  occasion  to  go  out,  with  a  child  that  had 
sat  with  him  during  the  long  meeting.  He  told  me  af-ter- 
wards  that,  as  he  went  into  the  vestibule  of  the  church,  he 
found  the  old  elder  sitting  there  with  the  door  ajar,  and 
listening  to  what  I  was  saying,  and  absolutely  weeping 
himself. 

When  I  was  done,  the  people  thronged  around  me  on 
every  side,  and  with  tears  thanked  me  for  so  full  and  satis 
factory  an  exhibition  of  that  subject.  I  should  have  said 
that  the  meeting  was  attended,  not  only  by  members  of  the 
church,  but  by  the  community  generally.  The  question  was 
intelligently  settled,  and  soon  the  people  ceased  to  talfc 
about  it  In  the  course  of  a  few  days  the  spirit  of  prayer 
^turned,  and  the  revival  was  revived  and  went  on  again 


13*  MEMOIBS   OF   CHARLES   ft. 

with  great  power.  Not  long  after,  the  ordinances  were 
wlministered,  and  a  large  number  of  the  converts  united 
with  the  church. 

I  have  already  intimated  that  I  was  a  guest  of  Mr.  S * 

He  had  a  very  interesting  family.  He  and  his  wife, — called 
by  everybody,  "  Aunt  Lucy  M — had  no  children  of  their  own  ; 
but  they  had,  from  time  to  time,  through  the  yearnings  of 
their  hearts,  adopted  one  child  after  another,  until  they  had 
ten  ;  and  they  were  so  nearly  of  an  age  that,  at  this  time,  his 
family  was  composed  of  himself,  and  "  Aunt  Lucy,"  his  wife, 
and  ten  young  people,  I  think  about  equally  divided,  young 
men  and  young  women.  They  were  all  soon  converted,  and 
their  conversions  were  very  striking.  They  were  bright  con 
verts,  and  very  intelligent  young  people  ;  and  a  happier  and 
more  lovely  family  I  never  saw  than  they  were  when  they 
were  all  converted. 

But  Aunt  Lucy  had  been  converted  under  other  circum 
stances,  when  there  was  no  revival ;  and  she  had  never 
before  seen  the  freshness,  and  strength,  and  joy  of  converts 
in  a  powerful  revival.  Their  faith  and  love,  their  joy  and 
peace,  completely  stumbled  her.  She  began  to  think  that 
she  was  never  converted ;  and  although  she  had  given  her 
self,  heart  and  soul,  to  the  promotion  of  the  work,  yet,  right 
in  the  midst  of  it,  she  fell  into  despair,  in  spite  of  all  that 
could  be  said  or  done.  She  concluded  that  she  never  had 
been  converted,  and  of  course  that  she  never  could  be. 

This  introduced  into  the  family  a  matter  of  great  pain 
and  concern.  Her  husband  thought  she  would  go  deranged. 
The  young  people,  who  all  regarded  her  as  a  mother,  were 
filled  with  concern  about  her ;  and  indeed  the  house  was 
thrown  into  mourning,  Mr.  S gave  up  his  time  to  con 
verse  and  to  pray  with  her,  and  to  try  to  revive  her  hope. 
I  had  several  conversations  with  her  ;  but  in  the  great  light 
which  the  experience  of  those  young  converts,  to  which  she  was 
daily  listening,  threw  around  her,  she  could  not  be  persuaded  to 
believe,  either  that  she  ever  was  converted,  or  ever  could  be. 


BBVIVAL  AT  QOUVEBKBUE.  133 

This  state  of  things  continued  day  after  day,  till  I  began 
myself  to  think  that  she  would  be  deranged.  The  street  on 
which  they  lived  was  a  thickly  settled  street,  almost  a  village, 
for  some  three  miles  in  extent.  The  work  had  extended  on 
that  street  until  there  was  but  one  adult  unconverted  person 

left.     He  was  a  young  man,  by  the  name  of  B H , 

and  he  was  almost  frantic  in  his  opposition  to  the  work. 
Almost  the  whole  neighborhood  gave  themselves  to  prayer 
for  this  young  man,  and  his  case  was  in  almost  everybody's 
mouth. 

One  day  I  came  in,  and  found  Aunt  Lucy  taking  on  very 

much  about  this  B H .     "  Oh  dear  ! "   she  said  ; 

"  what  will  become  of  him  ?  Why,  Mr.  S !  he  will  cer 
tainly  lose  his  soul !  What  will  become  of  him  ? "  She 
seemed  to  be  in  the  greatest  agony,  lest  that  young  man 
should  lose  his  soul.  I  listened  to  her  for  a  few  moments, 
and  then  looked  gravely  at  her,  and  said:  "Aunt  Lucy, 

when  you  and  B H die,  God  will  have  to  make  a 

partition  in  hell,  and  give  you  a  room  by  yourself."  She 
opened  her  large  blue  eyes,  and  looked  at  me  with  a  reprov 
ing  look.  "  Why,  Mr.  Finney  ! "  said  she.  "  Just  so,"  I  said. 
"  Do  you  think  God  will  be  guilty  of  so  great  an  impropriety 

as  to  put  you  and  B H in  the  same  place  ?    Here 

he  is,  raving  against  God  ;  and  you  are  almost  insane  in  feel 
ing  the  abuse  which  he  heaps  upon  God,  and  with  the  fear 
that  he  is  going  to  hell.  Now  can  two  such  persons,  in  two 
such  opposite  states  of  mind,  do  you  think,  be  sent  to  the 
same  place  ?  "  I  calmly  met  her  reproving  gaze,  and  looked 
her  steadily  in  the  face.  In  a  few  moments  her  features 
relaxed,  and  she  smiled,  the  first  time  for  many  days.  "It 

is  just  so,  my  dear,"  said  Mr.  S ,  "just  so.     How  can 

you  and  B H go  to  the  same  place  ?  "    She  laughed 

and  said,  "We  cannot"  From  that  moment  her  despair 
cleared  up  ;  and  she  came  out  clear,  and  as  happy  as  any  of 

the  young  converts.      This  B H was  afterward 

converted. 


134  MEMOIES   OF   CHAKLES   Q. 

About  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  Mr.  S *s  lived  a  Mi 

M ,  who  was  a  strong  Universalist,  and,  for  a  considers 

ble  time,  kept  away  from  our  meetings.    One  morning.  Fa  the  > 

Naflh,  who  was  at  the  time  with  me  at  Mr.  S ?s,  rose  up 

as  his  custom  was,  at  a  very  early  hour ;  and  went  back  to  H 
grove  some  fifty  rods,  perhaps,  from  the  road,  to  have  a 
season  of  prayer  alone.  It  was  before  sunrise  ;  and  brothei 
Nash,  as  usual,  became  very  much  engaged  in  prayer.  It 
was  one  of  those  clear  mornings,  on  which  it  is  possible  to 

hear  sounds  a  great  distance.    Mr.  M had  risen,  and  was 

out  of  doors  at  that  early  hour  in  the  morning,  and  heard 
the  voice  of  prayer.  He  listened,  and  could  distinctly  hear 
Father  Nash's  voice.  He  knew  it  was  prayer,  he  afterward 
said  ;  though  he  could  not  distinguish  much  that  was  said. 
He,  however,  said  that  he  knew  what  it  was,  and  who  it 
was.  And  it  lodged  an  arrow  in  his  heart.  He  said  it 
brought  a  sense  of  the  reality  of  religion  over  him,  such  as 
he  never  had  experienced  before.  The  arrow  was  fastened, 
He  found  no  relief,  till  he  found  it  in  believing  in  Jesus. 

1  do  not  know  the  number  of  those  converted  in  tha/ 
revival.  It  was  a  large  farming  town,  settled  by  well-to-do 
inhabitants.  The  great  majority  of  them,  I  am  confident, 
were,  in  that  revival,  converted  to  Christ 

I  have  not  been  in  that  place  for  many  years.  But  1 
have  often  heard  from  there  ;  and  have  always  understood 
that  there  has  been  a  very  healthful  state  of  religion  in  that 
place,  and  that  they  have  never  had  anything  like  a  di« 
cussion  on  the  subject  of  baptism  since. 

The  doctrines  preached  in  promoting  that  revival,  were 
those  that  I  have  preached  everywhere.  The  total  moral, 
voluntary  depravity  of  unregenerate  man  ;  the  necessity  of  a 
radical  change  of  heart,  through  the  truth,  by  the  agency 
of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  the  divinity  and  humanity  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ ;  his  vicarious  atonement,  equal  to  the  wante  of 
all  mankind ;  the  gift,  divinity  and  agency  of  the  Hob 
Ghost ;  repentance,  faith,  justification  bv  faith,  sanctificatior 


REVIVAL  AT   GOUVERtfEUfi.  135 

by  faith  ;  persistence  in  holiness  as  a  condition  of  salvation  ; 
indeed  all  the  distinctive  doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  were  stated 
and  set  forth  with  as  much  clearness,  and  point,  and  power, 
as  were  possible  to  me  under  the  circumstances.  A  great 
spirit  of  prayer  prevailed  ;  and  after  the  discussion  on  bap 
tism,  a  spirit  of  most  interesting  unity,  brotherly  love,  and 
Ohristiar  fellowship  prevailed.  I  never  had  occasion 
finally,  to  rebuke  the  opposition  of  the  Baptist  brethren 
publicly,  In  my  readings  on  the  subject  of  baptism,  the 
Lord  enabled  me  to  maintain  such  a  spirit  that  no  con 
troversy  was  started,  and  no  controversial  spirit  prevailed. 
The  discussion  produced  no  evil  result,  but  great  good,  and 
so  far  ai  f  could  see,  only  good. 


CHAPTER   XL 

REVIVAL     AT   DE    KALB. 

FROM  Gouverneur  I  went  to  De  Kalb,  another  village 
still  further  north,  some  sixteen  miles,  I  think.  Here 
were  a  Presbyterian  church  and  minister ;  but  the  church 
was  small,  and  the  minister  seemed  not  to  have  a  very 
strong  hold  upon  the  people.  However,  I  think  he  was 
decidedly  a  good  man.  I  began  to  hold  meetings  in  De 
Kalb,  in  different  parts  of  the  town.  The  village  was  small 
and  the  people  were  very  much  scattered.  The  country  was 
new,  and  the  roads  were  new  and  bad.  But  a  revival  com 
menced  immediately,  and  went  forward  with  a  good  deal  of 
power,  for  a  place  where  the  inhabitants  were  so  much 
scattered. 

A  few  years  before,  there  had  been  a  revival  there  under 
the  labors  of  the  Methodists.  It  had  been  attended  with  a 
good  deal  of  excitement ;  and  many  cases  had  occurred  of, 
what  the  Methodists  call,  "  Falling  under  the  power  of  God." 
This  the  Presbyterians  had  resisted,  and,  in  consequence,  a 
bad  state  of  feeling  had  arisen,  between  the  Methodists  and 
the  Presbyterians  ;  the  Methodists  accusing  the  Presbyterians 
of  having  opposed  the  revival  among  them  because  of  these 
cases  of  falling.  As  nearly  as  I  could  learn,  there  was  a 
good  deal  of  truth  in  this,  and  the  Presbyterians  had  been 
decidedly  in  error. 

I  had  not  preached  long,  before,  one  evening,  just  at  the 
close  of  my  sermon,  I  observed  a  man  fall  from  his  seat  near 
the  door  ;  and  the  people  gathered  around  him  to  take  care 
of  him.  From  what  I  saw,  I  was  satisfied  that  it  was  a  case 
of  falling  under  the  power  of  God,  as  the  Methodists  would 


REVIVAL  AT  DE  KALfc.  13? 

express  it,  and  supposed  that  it  was  a  Methodist.  I  must 
say  that  I  had  a  little  fear  that  it  might  reproduce  that  state 
of  division  and  alienation  that  had  before  existed.  But  on 
inquiry  I  learned  that  it  was  one  of  the  principal  members 
of  the  Presbyterian  church,  that  had  fallen.  And  it  was 
remarkable  that  during  this  revival,  there  were  several  cases 
of  this  kind  among  the  Presbyterians,  and  non  e  among  the 
Methodists.  This  led  to  such  confessions  and  explanations 
among  the  members  of  the  different  churches,  as  to  secure  a 
state  of  great  cordiality  and  good  feeling  among  them. 

While  laboring  at  De  Kalb,  I  first  became  acquainted 

with  Mr.  F ,  of  Ogdensburgh.     He  heard  of  the  revival  in 

De  Kalb,  and  came  from  Ogdensburgh,  some  sixteen  miles,  to 
see  it.  He  was  wealthy,  and  very  benevolent.  He  proposed 
to  employ  me  as  his  missionary,  to  work  in  the  towns 
throughout  that  county,  and  he  would  pay  me  a  salary. 
However,  I  declined  to  pledge  myself  to  preach  in  any  par 
ticular  place,  or  to  confine  my  labors  within  any  given 
lines. 

Mr.  F spent  several  days  with  me,  in  visiting  from 

house  to  house,  and  in  attending  our  meetings.  He  had 
been  educated  in  Philadelphia,  an  old  school  Presbyterian, 
and  was  himself  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church  in 
Ogdensburgh.  On  going  away,  he  left  a  letter  for  me,  con 
taining  three  ten  dollar  bills.  A  few  days  later  he  came  up 
again,  and  spent  two  or  three  days,  and  attended  our  meet 
ings,  and  became  very  much  interested  in  the  work.  When 
he  went  away  he  left  another  letter,  containing,  as  before, 
three  ten  dollar  bills.  Thus  I  found  myself  possessed  of 
sixty  dollars,  with  which  I  immediately  purchased  a  buggy. 
Before  this  time,  though  I  had  a  horse,  I  had  no  carriage ; 
and  my  young  wife  and  myself  used  to  go  a  good  deal  on  foot, 
to  meeting. 

The  revival  took  a  very  strong  hold  ol  tne  church  in  this 
place  ;  and  among  others,  one  of  the  elders  of  the  church, 
by  the  name  of  B .  was  thoroughly  broken  up  and  broken 


138  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   Q. 

down,  and  became  quite  another  man.  The  impressioc 
deepened  on  the  public  mind  from  day  to  day. 

One  Saturday,  just  before  evening,  a  German  merchant 

tailor,  from  Ogdensburgh,  by  the  name  of  F ,  called  on 

me,  and  informed  me  that  Squire  F had  sent  him  from 

Ogdensburgh,  to  take  my  measure  for  a  suit  of  clothes.  I 
had  begun  to  need  clothes,  ana  had  once,  not  long  before, 
spoken  to  ;he  Lord  about  it,  that  my  clothes  were  getting 

shabby  ;  but  it  had  not  occurred  to  me  again.     Mr.  F . 

however,  had  observed  it ;  and  sent  this  man,  who  was  a 
Roman  Catholic,  to  take  my  measure.  I  asked  him  if  he 
would  not  stay  over  the  Sabbath,  and  take  my  measure 
Monday  morning.  I  said,  "It  is  too  late  for  you  to  return 
to-night ;  and  if  I  allow  you  to  take  my  measure  to-night, 
you  will  go  home  to-morrow."  He  admitted  that  he  ex 
pected  to  do  so.  I  said,  "  Then  you  shall  not  take  it  If 
you  will  not  stay  till  Monday  morning,  I  will  not  be  meas 
ured  for  a  suit  of  clothes."  He  remained. 

The    same    afternoon  there   were  other   arrivals  from 

Ogdensburgh  ;  and  among  them  was  an  elder  S ,  who 

was  a  brother  elder  m  the  same  church  with  Mr.  F 

Mr.  S 's  son,  an  unconverted  young  man,  came  with  him. 

Elder  S attended  meeting  m  the  morning,  and  at 

the   intermission   was   invited  by  elder  B to  go  home 

with  him,  and  get  some  refreshment.     Elder  B was  full 

of  the  Holy  Spirit  ;  and  on  the  way  home  he  preached  to 

elder  S ,  who  was  at  the  time  very  cold  and  backward 

in  religion.     Elder  S was  very  much  penetrated  by  his 

words. 

Soon  after  they  entered  the  house  the  table  was  spread, 
and  they  were  invited  to  sit  down  and  take  some  refresh 
ment.  As  they  drew  around  the  table,  elder  S said  to 

elder   B ,   "How  did  you  get   this  blessing?"    Elder 

B replied,  "I  stopped  lying  to  God."    Said  he,  "All 

my  Christian  life  I  have  been  making  pretences,  and  asking 
God  for  things  that  I  was  not,  on  the  whole,  willing  to  have  : 


RE  VITAL   AT   DB    KALB.  L39 

*nd  I  had  gone  on  and  prayed  as  other  people  prayed,  and 
often  had  been  insincere,  and  really  lied  to  God  "  He  con 
tinued:  "As  soon  as  I  made  up  my  mind  that  I  never  would 
say  anything  to  God  in  prayer,  that  1  did  not  really  mean, 
God  answered  me ;  and  the  Spirit  came  down  and  I  was 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost." 

At  this  moment  Mr.  S ,  who  had  not  commenced  to 

jat,  shoved  his  chair  back  from  the  table,  and  fell  on  his 
oiees  and  began  to  confess  how  he  had  lied  to  God  ;  and 
how  he  had  played  the  hypocrite  in  his  prayers,  as  well  as  in 
his  life.  The  Holy  Ghost  fell  upon  him  immediately,  and 
filled  him  as  full  as  he  could  hold. 

In  the  afternoon  the  people  had  assembled  for  worship, 
and  I  was  standing  in  the  pulpit  reading  a  hymn.  I  heard 
somebody  talking  very  loud,  and  approaching  the  house,  the 
door  and  windows  being  open.  Directly  two  men  came  in. 

Elder  B I  knew  ;  the  other  man  was  a  stranger.  As 

soon  as  he  came  in  at  the  door,  he  lifted  his  eyes  to  me, 
came  straight  into  the  desk,  and  took  n?e  up  in  nis  arms  : — 
"God  bless  you  !"  said  he  "God  b!ess  you  !"  He  thec 
began  and  told  me,  and  told  the  congregation,  what  the 
Lord  had  just  done  for  his  soul. 

His  countenance  was  all  in  a  glow  ;  and  he  was  so  changed 
in  his  appearance,  that  those  that  knew  him  were  perfectly 
astonished  at  the  change.  His  son  who  had  not  known  ol 
this  change  in  his  father,  when  he  saw  and  heard  him,  rose 
up  and  was  hastening  out  of  the  church.  His  father  cried 
out,  "  Do  not  leave  the  house,  my  son  ;  for  I  never  loved 
you  before."  He  went  on  to  speak  ;  and  the  power  with 
which  he  spoke  was  perfectly  astonishing.  The  people 
melted  down  on  every  side  ;  and  his  son  broke  down  almost 
immediately. 

Very  soon  the  Roman  Catholic  tailor,  Mr.  F ,  rose 

up,  and  said,  "  I  must  tell  you  what  the  Lord  has  done  for 
my  soul.  I  was  brought  up,  a  Roman  Catholic ;  and  I 
dared  to  read  my  Bible.  I  was  told  that  if  I  did.  thf 


140  MEMOIRS   OF   OHAELE8   ft.    PINNEY. 

devil  would  carry  me  off  bodily.  Sometimes  when  I  dared 
to  look  into  it,  it  seemed  as  if  the  devil  was  peering  over  my 
shoulder,  and  had  come  to  carry  me  off.  But,"  said  he,  "I 
see  it  is  all  a  delusion."  And  he  went  on  to  tell  what  the 
Lord  had  done  for  him,  just  there  on  the  spot — what  views 
the  Lord  had  given  him  of  tks  way  of  salvation  by  Jesus 
Christ.  It  was  evident  to  everybody  that  he  was  converted. 

This  made  a  great  impression  on  the  congregation.  I 
could  not  preach.  The  whole  course  of  the  meeting  had 
taken  on  a  type  which  the  Lord  had  given  it.  I  sat  still, 
and  saw  the  salvation  of  God.  All  that  afternoon,  conver 
sions  were  multiplied  in  every  part  of  the  congregation.  As 
they  arose  one  after  another,  and  told  what  the  Lord  had 
done,  and  was  doing,  for  their  souls,  the  impression  in 
creased;  and  so  spontaneous  a  movement  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  in  convicting  and  converting  sinners,  I  had  scarcely 
ever  seen. 

The  next  day  this  elder  S returned  to  Ogdensburgh. 

But,  as  I  understand,  ae  made  many  calls  on  the  way,  and 
conversed  and  prayed  with  many  families ;  and  thus  the 
revival  was  extended  to  Ogdensburgh. 

In  the  early  part  of  October,  t'ie  synod  to  which  I  be 
longed,  met  in  Utica.  I  took  my  wife,  and  we  went  down 
to  Utica  to  attend  the  synod,  and  to  visit  her  father's 
family  living  near  Utica. 

Mr.  Gale,  my  theological  teacher,  had  left  Adams  not 
long  after  I  left  it  myself  ;  and  had  removed  to  a  farm  in 
the  town  of  Western,  Oneida  county,  where  he  was  endeavor 
ing  to  regain  his  health,  and  was  employed  in  teaching  some 
young  men,  who  proposed  to  prepare  themselves  to  preach 
the  Gospel.  I  spent  a  few  days  at  the  synod  at  Utica,  and 
then  set  out  on  my  return  to  my  former  field  of  labor,  in 
St.  Lawrence  county. 

We  had  not  gone  more  than  a  dozen  miles  when  we  met 
Mr.  Gale  in  his  carriage,  on  his  way  to  Utica.  He  leaped 
from  his  carriage  and  said,  "  God  bless  you,  Brother  Finuay 


REVIVAL  AT  DE   EALB.  141 

I  was  going  down  to  the  synod  to  see  you.  Yon  must  go 
home  with  me  ;  I  cannot  be  denied.  I  do  not  believe  that 
I  ever  was  converted  ;  and  I  wrote  the  other  day  to  Adams, 
to  know  where  a  letter  woula  reach  you,  as  I  wanted  to 
open  my  mind  to  you  on  the  subject."  He  was  so  impor 
tunate  that  I  consented ;  and  we  drove  immediately  to 
Western. 

In  reflecting  upon  what  I  have  said  of  the  revivals  of 
religion,  in  Jefferson  and  St.  Lawrence  counties,  I  am  not 
quite  sure  that  I  have  laid  as  much  stress  as  I  intended 
apon  the  manifest  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  those 
revivals.  I  wish  it  to  be  distinctly  understood,  in  all  that  I 
shall  say,  in  my  narrative  of  the  revivals  that  I  have  wit 
nessed,  that  I  alwayp  in  my  own  mind,  and  practically,  laid 
the  utmost  stress  upon  this  fact,  underlying,  directing,  and 
giving  efficiency  to  the  means,  without  which  nothing  would 
be  accomplished 

I  have  said,  more  than  once,  that  the  spirit  of  prayer 
that  prevailed  in  those  revivals  was  a  very  marked  feature  of 
them.  It  was  common  for  young  converts  to  be  greatly 
exercised  in  prayer  ;  and  in  some  instances,  so  much  so,  that 
they  were  constrained  to  pray  whole  nights,  and  until  theii 
bodily  strength  was  quite  exhausted,  for  the  conversion  of 
souls  around  them.  There  was  a  great  pressure  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  upon  the  minds  of  Christians  ;  and  they  seemed 
to  bear  about  with  them  the  burden  of  immortal  souls. 
They  manifested  the  greatest  solemnity  of  mind,  and  the 
greatest  watchfulness  in  all  their  words  and  actions.  It 
was  very  common  to  find  Christians,  whenever  they  met  in 
any  place,  instead  of  engaging  in  conversation  to  fall  on 
their  knees  in  prayer. 

Not  only  were  prayer-meetings  greatly  multiplied  and 
fully  attended,  not  only  was  there  great  solemnity  in  those 
meetings ;  but  there  was  a  mighty  spirit  of  secret  prayer. 
Christians  prayed  a  great  deal,  many  of  them  spending 
many  hours  in  private  prayer.  It  was  also  the  case  that 


142  MEMOIRS    OF    CHARLES    G. 

two,  or  more,  would  take  the  promise  :  "If  two  of  you  shaL 
agree  on  earth  as  touching  anything  that  they  shall  ask,  it 
shall  be  done  for  them  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 
and  make  some  particular  person  a  subject  of  prayer ;  and 
it  wae  wonderful  to  what  an  extent  they  prevailed.  Answers 
to  prayer  were  so  manifestly  multiplied  on  every  side,  that 
no  one  could  escape  the  conviction  that  God  was  daily  and 
hourly  answering  prayer. 

If  anything  occurred  that  threatened  to  mar  the  work, 
if  there  was  any  appearance  of  any  root  of  bitterness  spring 
ing  up,  or  any  tendency  to  fanaticism  or  disorder,  Christians 
would  take  the  alarm,  and  give  themselves  tc  — %yer  that 
God  would  direct  and  control  all  things  ;  and  it  was  surpris 
ing  to  see,  to  what  extent,  and  by  what  means,  God  would 
/remove  obstacles  out  of  the  way,  in  answer  to  prayer. 

In  regard  to  my  own  experience,  I  will  say  that  unless  1 
had  the  spirit  of  prayer  I  could  do  nothing.  If  even  for  a 
day  or  an  hour  I  lost  the  spirit  of  grace  and  supplication,  1 
found  myself  unable  to  preach  with  power  and  efficiency,  or 
to  win  souls  by  personal  conversation.  In  this  respect  my 
experience  was  what  it  has  always  b^en. 

For  several  weeks  before  I  lef*  Dv  Kalb  io  go  to  the 
$ynod,  I  was  very  strongly  exercised  IE  p^nyer,  and  had  UD 
experience  that  was  somewhat  new  to  me.  I  found  myself 
so  much  exercised,  and  so  borne  down  with  the  weight  of 
immortal  souls,  that  I  was  constrained  to  pray  without  ceas 
ing.  Some  of  my  experiences,  indeed,  alarmed  me.  A  spirit 
of  importunity  sometimes  came  upon  me  so  that  I  would  say 
to  God  that  he  had  made  a  promise  to  answer  prayer,  and  1 
could  not,  and  would  not,  be  denied.  I  felt  so  certain  that 
he  would  hear  me,  and  that  faithfulness  to  his  promises,  and 
to  himself,  rendered  it  impossible  that  he  should  not  heai 
and  answer,  that  frequently  I  found  myself  saying  to  him, 
"  I  hope  thou  dost  not  think  that  I  can  be  denied.  I  come 
with  thy  faithful  promises  in  my  hand,  and  I  cannot  be 
denied."  I  cannot  tell  how  absurd  unbelief  looked  to  me, 


REVIVAL  AT    DE   KALB.  148 

and  how  certain  it  was,  in  my  mind,  that  God  would  answei 
prayer — those  prayers  that,  from  day  to  day,  and  from  hour 
to  honr,  I  found  myself  offering  in  such  agony  and  faith.  I 
had  no  idea  of  the  shape  the  answer  would  take,  the  locality 
in  which  the  prayers  would  be  answered,  or  the  exact  time 
of  the  answer.  My  impression  was  that  the  answer  was  near, 
even  at  the  door ;  and  I  felt  myself  strengthened  in  the  divine 
life,  put  on  the  harness  for  a  mighty  conflict  with  thfe  powers 
of  darkness,  and  expected  soon  to  see  a  far  more  powerful 
outpouring  of  the  Spirit  of  Q-od,  in  that  new  country  where 
I  had  been  laboring 


CHAPTER  XII 

REVIVAL   AT    WESTEBST. 

I  HAVE  spoken  of  my  turning  aside  to  Western,  as  1  was 
returning  from  the  synod  at  Utica.  At  this  place,  com 
menced  that  series  of  revivals,  afterward  called  "The  West 
ern  Revivals."  So  far  as  I  know  these  revivals  first  attracted 
the  notice,  and  excited  the  opposition  of  certain  prominent 
ministers  at  the  East,  and  raised  the  cry  of  "  New  Meas 
ures." 

The  churches  in  that  region  were  mostly  Presbyterian. 
There  were  in  that  county,  however,  three  Congregational 
ministers  who  called  themselves  "The  Oneida  Associ? 
tion,"  who,  at  the  time,  published  a  pamphlet  against  thos' 
revivals.  This  much  we  knew  ;  but  as  the  pamphlet  mad 
no  public  impression  that  we  could  learn,  no  public  notice. 
so  far  as  I  am  aware,  was  ever  taken  of  it.  We  thought  it 
likely  that  that  association  had  much  to  do  with  the  opposi 
tion  that  was  raised  in  the  East.  Their  leader,  Rev.  William 
R.  Weeks,  as  was  well  known,  embraced  and  propagated  the 
peculiar  doctrines  of  Dr.  Emmons,  and  insisted  very  much 
upon  what  he  called  "  The  divine  efficiency  scheme."  His 
peculiar  views  on  this  subject  naturally  led  him  to  be  sus 
picious  of  whatever  was  not  connected  with  those  views,  in 
preaching,  and  in  the  means  that  were  used  to  promote  a 
revival.  He  seemed  to  have  little  or  no  confidence  in  any 
conversions  that  did  not  bring  men  to  embrace  his  views  of 
divine  efficiency  and  divine  sovereignty  ;  and  as  those  of  us 
who  labored  in  those  revivals  had  no  sympathy  with  his 
views  in  that  respect,  it  was  very  natural  for  him  to  have 
but  little  confidence  in  the  genuineness  of  the  revivals  But 


RETIVAL  AT   WESTERN.  145 

we  never  supposed  that  the  whole  of  the  opposition  could  have 
originated  in  representations  made  by  any  of  the  members  of 
that  association. 

No  public  replies  were  made  to  the  letters  that  found 
their  way  into  the  public  prints,  nor  to  anything  that  wag 
published  in  opposition  to  the  revivals.  Those  of  us  who 
were  engaged  in  them  had  our  hands  too  full,  and  our 
iiearts  too  full,  to  turn  aside  to  reply  to  letters  or  reports 
or  publications  that  so  manifestly  misrepresented  the  char 
acter  of  the  work.  The  fact  that  no  answers  were  made  at 
the  time,  left  the  public  abroad,  and  without  the  range  of 
those  revivals,  and  where  the  facts  were  not  known,  to  mis 
apprehend  their  character.  So  much  misapprehension  came 
to  exist,  that  it  has  been  common  for  good  men,  in  referring 
to  those  revi^ls,  to  assume,  that  althoug^  they  were,  upon 
the  whole,  revivals  of  religion ;  yet,  that  they  were  so  con 
ducted  that  great  disorders  were  manifest  in  them,  and  that 
there  was  much  to  deplore  in  their  results. 

Now  all  this  is  an  entire  mistake.  I  shall  relate  as  fairly 
as  I  can,  the  characteristics  of  these  revivals,  the  measures 
that  were  used  in  promoting  them,  and  disclose,  to  the  best 
of  my  ability,  their  real  character  and  results  ;  understand 
ing  well,  as  I  do,  that  there  are  multitudes  of  living  witnesses, 
who  can  attest  the  truth  of  what  I  say,  or  if,  in  anything,  I 
am  mistaken,  can  correct  me. 

And  now  I  will  turn  to  Western,  where  these  revivals 
commenced,  in  Oneida  county.  I  have  said,  that  Mr.  Gale 
had  settled  upon  a  farm  in  Western ;  and  was  employing 
some  young  men,  in  helping  to  cultivate  the  farm,  and  was 
engaged  in  teaching  them,  and  endeavoring  to  regain  his 
health.  I  went  directly  to  his  house,  and  for  several  weeks 
was  his  guest.  We  arrived  there  Thursday,  I  think,  and 
that  afternoon  there  was  a  stated  prayer-meeting,  in  the 
school-house,  near  the  church.  The  church  had  no  settled 
minister,  and  Mr.  Gale  was  unable  to  preach  ;  indeed,  he 
did  not  go  there  to  preach,  but  simply  for  his  health,  I  be 
7 


146  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G. 

lieye  they  usually  had  a  minister  only  a  part  of  the  time 
and  for  sometime  previously  to  my  going  there,  I  think,  the} 
had  had  no  stated  preaching  at  all,  in  the  Presbyterian 
church.  There  were  three  elders  in  the  church,  and  a  few 
members  ;  but  the  church  was  very  small,  and  religion  was 
at  low  water  mark.  There  seemed  to  be  no  life,  or  courage, 
or  enterprise,  on  the  part  of  Christians ;  and  nothing  was 
doing  to  secure  the  conversion  of  sinners,  or  the  sanctifica- 
tion  of  the  church. 

In  the  afternoon  Mr.  Gale  invited  me  to  go  to  the  prayer- 
meeting,  and  I  went.  They  asked  me  to  take  the  lead  of  the 
meeting  ;  but  I  declined,  expecting  to  be  there  only  for  that 
afternoon,  and  preferring  rather  to  hear  them  pray  and  talk, 
than  to  take  part  in  the  meeting  myself.  The  meeting  was 
opened  by  one  of  the  elders,  who  read  a  chapter  in  the  Bible, 
then  a  hymn,  which  they  sung.  After  this  he  made  a  long 
prayer,  or  perhaps  I  should  say  an  exhortation,  or  gave  a 
narrative — I  hardly  know  what  to  call  it.  He  told  the  Lord 
how  many  years  they  had  been  holding  that  prayer-meeting 
weekly,  and  that  no  answer  had  been  given  to  their  prayers. 
He  made  such  statements  and  confessions  as  greatly  shocked 
me.  After  he  had  done,  another  elder  took  up  the  same 
fcheme.  He  read  a  hymn,  and,  after  singing,  engaged  in  a 
long  prayer,  in  which  he  went  over  very  nearly  the  same 
ground,  making  such  statements  as  the  first  one  had  omitted. 
Then  followed  the  third  elder,  in  the  same  strain.  By  this 
time  I  could  say  with  Paul,  that  my  spirit  was  stirred  within 
me.  They  had  got  through,  and  were  about  to  dismiss  the 
meeting.  But  one  of  the  elders  asked  me  if  I  would  not 
make  a  remark,  before  they  dismissed.  I  arose  and  took 
their  statements  and  confessions  for  a  text ;  and  it  seemed  to 
me,  at  the  time,  that  God  inspired  me  to  give  them  a  terri 
ble  searching. 

When  I  arose,  I  had  no  idea  what  I  should  say  ;  but  the 
Spirit  of  God  came  upon  me,  and  I  took  up  their  prayers, 
and  statements,  and  confessions,  and  dissected  them.  I 


REVIVAL  AT   WESTERS. 

showed  them  up,  and  asked  if  it  had  been  understood  th 
that  prayer-meeting  was  a  mock  prayer-meeting — whether 
they  had  come  together  professedly  to  mock  God,  by  imply 
ing  that  all  the  blame  of  what  had  been  passing  all  this  time, 
was  to  be  ascribed  to  his  sovereignty  ? 

At  first  I  observed  that  they  all  looked  angry.  Some  of 
them  afterward  said,  that  they  were  on  the  point  of  getting 
ap  and  going  out.  But  I  followed  them  up  on  the  track  of 
their  prayers  and  confessions,  until  the  elder,  who  was  the 
principal  man  among  them,  and  opened  the  meeting,  burst 
ing  into  tears,  exclaimed,  "  Brother  Finney,  it  is  all  true  !  " 
He  fell  upon  his  knees  and  wept  aloud.  This  was  the  signal 
for  a  general  breaking  down.  Every  man  and  woman  went 
down  upon  their  knees.  There  were  probably  not  more 
than  a  dozen  present ;  but  they  were  the  leading  members 
in  the  church.  They  all  wept,  and  confessed,  and  broke 
their  hearts  before  God.  This  scene  continued,  I  presume, 
for  an  hour  ;  and  a  more  thorough  breaking  down  and  con 
fession  I  have  seldom  witnessed. 

As  soon  as  they  recovered  themselves  somewhat,  they 
besought  me  to  remain  and  preach  to  thorn  on  the  Sabbath. 
I  regarded  it  as  the  voice  of  the  Lord,  and  consented  to  do 
so.  This  was  Thursday,  at  night.  On  Friday,  my  mind 
was  greatly  exercised.  I  went  off  frequently  into  the  church, 
to  engage  in  secret  prayer,  and  had  a  mighty  hold  upon  God. 
The  news  was  circulated,  and  on  Sabbath  the  church  was 
full  of  hearers.  I  preached  all  day,  and  God  came  down 
with  great  power  upon  the  people.  It  was  manifest  to  every 
body  that  the  work  of  grace  had  begun.  I  made  appoint 
ments  to  preach  in  different  parts  of  the  town,  in  school- 
houses,  and  at  the  centre,  during  the  week  ;  and  the  work 
increased  from  day  to  day. 

In  the  meantime,  my  own  mind  was  much  exercised  in 
prayer ;  and  I  found  that  the  spirit  of  prayer  was  prevail 
ing,  especially  among  the  female  members  of  the  church. 
Mrs.  B and  Mrs.  H ,  the  wives  of  two  of  the  elder? 


i4fc  MEMOIRS   OF  OHAELES   G. 

of  the  church,  1  found,  were,  almost  immediately,  gieatlj 
exercised  in  prayer.  Each  of  them  had  families  of  uncon 
verted  children  ;  and  they  laid  hold  in  prayer  with  an 
earnestness  that,  to  me,  gave  promise  that  their  families  must 

be  converted.     Mrs.  H ,  however,  was  a  woman  of  very 

feeble  health,  and  had  not  ventured  out  much,  to  any  meeting, 
for  a  k>ng  time.  But,  as  the  day  was  pleasant,  she  was  out  at 
the  prayer-meeting  to  which  I  have  alluded,  and  seemed  to 
catch  the  inspiration  of  that  meeting,  and  took  it  home 
with  her. 

It  was  the  next  week,  I  think,  that  I  called  in  at  Mr. 

H Js,  and  found  him  pale  and  agitated.     He  said  to  me 

"  Brother  Finney,  I  think  my  wife  will  die.  She  is  so 
exercised  in  her  mind  that  she  cannot  rest  day  or  night,  but 
is  given  up  entirely  to  prayer.  She  has  been  all  the 
morning,"  said  he,  "  in  her  room,  groaning  and  struggling  in 
prayer ;  and  I  am  afraid  it  will  entirely  overcome  her 
strength."  Hearing  my  voice  in  the  sitting-room,  she  cam 
out  from  her  bed-room,  and  upon  her  face  was  a  most  heav 
enly  glow.  Her  countenance  was  lighted  up  with  a  hop 
and  a  joy  that  were  plainly  from  heaven.  She  exclaimed, 
1  Brother  Finney,  the  Lord  has  come  !  This  work  will 
spread  over  all  this  region  !  A  cloud  of  mercy  overhangs 
us  all ;  and  we  shall  see  such  a  work  of  grace  as  we  have 
never  yet  seen."  Her  husband  looked  surprised,  con 
founded,  and  knew  not  what  to  say.  It  was  new  to  him, 
but  not  to  me.  I  had  witnessed  such  scenes  before,  and 
believed  that  prayer  had  prevailed  ;  nay.  I  felt  sure  of  it  in 
my  own  soul. 

The  work  went  on,  spread,  and  prevailed,  until  it  began 
to  exhibit  unmistakable  indications  of  the  direction  in 
which  the  Spirit  of  God  was  leading  from  that  place.  The 
distance  to  Rome  was  nine  miles,  I  believe.  About  hali 
way,  was  a  small  village,  called  Elmer's  Hill.  There  was  a 
large  school-house,  where  I  held  a  weekly  lecture  ;  and  it 
soon  became  manifest  that  the  work  was  spreading  in  the 


REVIVAL   AT   WESTERN.  149 

direction  of  Rome  and  Utica.  There  was  a  settlement 
northeast  of  Rome,  about  three  miles,  called  Wright's  settle 
ment.  Large  numbers  of  persons  came  down  to  attend  the 
meetings  at  Elmer's  Hill,  from  Rome  and  from  Wright's 
settlement ;  and  the  work  soon  began  to  take  effect  among 
them. 

But  I  must  relate  a  few  of  the  incidents  that  occurred  in 

the  revival  at  Western.  Mrs.  B ,  to  whom  I  have 

already  alluded,  had  a  large  family  of  unconverted  chil 
dren.  One  of  the  sons  was,  I  believe,  a  professor  of  reli 
gion,  and  lived  at  Utica  ;  the  rest  of  the  family  were  at 
home.  They  were  a  very  amiable  family ;  and  the  eldest 
daughter,  especially,  had  been  manifestly  regarded  by  the 
family  as  almost  perfect.  I  went  in  several  times  to  con 
verse  with  her  ;  but  I  found  tnat  the  family  were  so  tender 
of  her  feelings  that  I  could  not  strip  away  her  self -righteous 
ness.  She  had  evidently  been  made  to  believe  that  she  was 
almost,  if  not  quite  a  Christian.  Her  life  had  been  so 
irreproachable,  that  it  was  very  difficult  to  convict  her  of 
sin.  The  second  daughter  was  also  a  very  amiable  girl , 
but  she  did  not  regard  herself  as  worthy  to  be  compared 
with  the  eldest,  in  respect  to  amiability  and  excellence  of 
character. 

One  day  when  I  was  talking  with  S ,  the  eldest,  and 

trying  to  make  her  see  herself  as  a  great  sinner,  notwith 
standing  her  morality,  C -,  the  second  daughter  said  to 

me,  "  Mr.  Finney  I  think  that  you  are  too  hard  upon 

S .  If  you  should  talk  so  to  me,  I  should  feel  that  I 

deserved  it ;  but  I  don't  think  that  she  does."  After  being 
defeated  several  times  in  my  attempts  to  secure  the  convic 
tion  and  conversion  of  S ,  I  made  up  my  mind  to  bide 

mj  time,  and  improve  some  opportunity  when  I  should  find 
her  away  from  home,  or  alone.  It  was  not  long  before  the 
opportunity  came.  I  entered  into  conversation  with  her, 
and  by  God's  help  stripped  the  covering  from  her  heart,  and 
she  was  brought  under  powerful  conviction  for  sin.  The 


150  MEMOIRS   OF   CHAELES   G,    FItftfEY. 

Spirit  pursued  her  with  mighty  power.     The  family  were 

surprised  and  greatly  distressed  for  S ;  but  God  pushed 

the  question  home  till,  after  a  struggle  of  a  few  days,  she 
broke  thoroughly  down,  and  came  out  into  the  kingdom,  ae 
beautiful  a  convert  as,  perhaps,  I  have  ever  seen.  Her  con 
victions  were  so  thorough,  that  when  she  came  out,  she  wae 
strong  in  faith,  clear  in  her  apprehension  of  duty  and  of 
truth,  and  immediately  became  a  host  in  her  power  for  good 
among  her  friends  and  acquaintances. 

In  the  meantime,  C ,  the  second  daughter,  became 

very  much  alarmed  about  herself,  and  very  anxious  for  the 
salvation  of  her  own  soul.  The  mother  seemed  to  be  in  real 
travail  of  soul  day  and  night.  I  called  in  to  see  the  family 
almost  daily,  and  sometimes,  two  or  three  times  a  day.  One 
of  the  children  after  another  was  converted  ;  and  we  were 

expecting  every  day  to  see  0 come  out  a  bright  convert. 

But  for  some  reason  she  lingered.  It  was  plain  the  Spirit 
was  resisted  ;  and  one  day  I  called  to  see  her,  and  found  her 
in  the  sitting-room  alone.  I  asked  her  how  she  was  getting 
on,  and  she  replied,  "  Mr.  Finney,  I  am  losing  my  convic 
tion.  I  do  not  feel  nearly  as  much  concerned  about  myself 
as  I  have  done."  Just  at  this  moment,  a  door  was  opened, 

and  Mrs.  B came  into  the  room,  and  I  told  her  what 

C had  said.     It  shocked  her  so  that  she  groaned  aloud, 

and  fell  prostrate  on  the  floor.  She  was  unable  to  rise  ;  and 
she  struggled  and  groaned  out  her  prayers,  in  a  manner  that 

immediately  indit ated  to  me  that  C must  be  converted. 

She  was  unable  to  say  much  in  words,  but  her  groans  and 
tears  witnessed  the  extreme  agony  of  her  mind.  As  soon  as 
tihis  scene  had  occurred,  the  Spirit  of  God  manifestly  came 

upon  C afresh.     She  fell  upon  her  knees,  and  before 

she  arose  she   broke  down  ;  and  became  to  all  appearance 

as  thorough  a  convert  as  S was.     The  B children, 

sons  and  daughters,  were  all  converted  at  that  time,  I  be 
lieve,  except  the  youngest,  then  a  little  child.  One  of  the 
«K>ns  has  preached  the  gospel  for  mar^  years. 


EEVIVAL  AT   WESTERN.  15) 

Among  other  incidents,  I  recollect  the  case  of  a  young 
,  in  a  distant  part  of  the  town,  who  came  to  the  meet 
ing  at  the  centre  almost  every  day.  I  had  conversed  with 
tier  several  times,  and  found  her  deeply  convicted,  and, 
indeed,  almost  in  despair.  I  was  expecting  to  hear,  from 
iay  to  day,  that  she  had  been  converted  ;  but  she  remained 
stationary,  or  rather  despair  increased  upon  her.  This  led 
me  to  suspect  that  something  was  wrong  at  home.  I  asked 
her  if  her  parents  were  Christians.  She  said  they  were 
members  of  the  church.  I  asked  her  if  they  attended  meet 
ings.  She  said.  "Yes,  on  the  Sabbath."  "Do  not  your 
parents  attend  meetings  at  other  times  ?"  "No,"  was  the 
reply.  "  Do  you  have  family  prayers  at  home  ? "  "No 
sir,"  she  said.  "  We  used  to  have ;  but  we  have  not  had 
family  prayers  for  a  long  time."  This  revealed  to  me  the 
stumbling-block,  at  once.  I  inquired  when  I  could  probably 
find  her  father  and  mother  at  home.  She  said,  almost  any 
time,  as  they  were  seldom  away  from  home.  Feeling  that  it 
was  infinitely  dangerous  to  leave  this  tuse  as  it  was,  I  went 
the  next  morning  to  see  the  family. 

This  daughter  was,  I  think,  an  only  child  ;  at  any  rate, 
she  was  the  only  child  at  home.  I  found  her  bowed  down, 
dejected,  and  sunken  in  despair.  I  said  to  ihe  mother, 
"The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  striving  with  your  daughter." 
"Yes,"  she  said,  "I  don't  know  but  he  is."  I  asked 
her  if  she  was  praying  for  her.  She  gave  me  an  answer  that 
led  me  to  understand  that  she  did  not  know  what  it  was  to 
pray  for  her*  I  inquired  for  her  husband.  She  said  thai 
he  was  in  the  field  at  work.  I  asked  her  to  call  him  in. 
He  came,  and  as  he  came  in  I  said  to  him,  "  Do  you  see  the 
state  that  your  daughter  is  in?  "  He  replied  that  he  thought 
she  felt  very  bad.  "And  are  you  awake,  and  engaged  in 
prayer  for  her  ? "  His  answer  revealed  the  fact  that  if 
he  was  ever  converted  he  was  a  miserable  backslider,  and 
had  no  hold  upon  God  whatever.  "  And,"  said  I,  "you  do 
not  Yave  family  prayers."  "  No  air."  "  Now,"  said  I,  "  1 


152  MEMOI&8   OF   CHARLES   G.    FINNEY. 

have  seen  your  daughter ,  day  after  day,  bowed  down  with 
conviction,  and  I  have  learned  that  the  difficulty  is  here  at 
home.  You  have  shut  up  the  kingdom  of  heaven  against 
your  daughter.  You  neither  enter  yourself,  nor  will  you 
suffer  her  to  enter.  Your  nnbelief  and  world ly-mindedness 
prevent  the  conversion  of  your  daughter,  and  will  ruin  your 
own  soul.  Now  you  must  repent.  1  do  not  intend  to  leave 
this  house  until  you  and  your  wife  repent,  and  get  out  of  the 
way  of  your  daughter.  You  must  establish  family  prayer, 
and  build  up  the  altar  that  has  fallen  down.  Now,  my  dear 
sir,  will  you  get  down  here  on  your  knees,  you  and  your 
wife,  acd  engage  in  prayer  ?  And  will  you  promise,  that 
from  this  time  you  will  do  your  duty,  set  up  your  family 
altar,  and  return  to  God  ?  " 

I  was  so  earnest  with  them,  that  they  both  began  to  weep. 
My  faith  was  so  strong,  that  I  did  not  trifle  when  I  told  then? 
that  I  would  not  leave  the  house,  until  they  would  repent, 
and  establish  their  family  altar.  I  felt  that  the  work  must 
be  done,  and  done  then.  I  cast  myself  down  upon  my  knees 
and  began  to  pray ;  and  they  knelt  down  and  wept  sorely. 
I  confessed  for  them  as  well  as  I  could,  and  tried  to  lead  them 
to  God,  and  to  prevail  with  God  in  their  behalf.  It  was  a 
moving  scene.  They  both  broke  down  their  hearts,  and  con 
fessed  their  sins ;  and  before  we  rose  from  our  knees  the 
daughter  got  into  liberty,  and  was  manifestly  converted. 
She  arose  rejoicing  in  Christ.  Many  answers  to  prayer,  and 
many  scenes  of  great  interest  were  presented  in  this  revival. 

There  was  one  passage  of  my  own  experience  that,  for 
the  honor  of  God,  I  must  not  omit  to  relate  in  this  connec 
tion.  I  had  preached  and  prayed  almost  continually  during 
the  time  that  I  had  been  at  Mr.  Gale's.  As  I  was  accustomed 
to  use  my  voice  in  private  prayer,  for  convenience*  sake,  that 
I  might  not  be  heard,  I  had  spread  a  buffalo  robe  on  the 
hay-loft ;  where  I  used  to  spend  much  of  my  time,  when  not 
abroad  visiting,  or  engaged  in  preaching,  in  secret  prayer  to 
God.  Mr.  Gale  had  admonished  me,  several  times,  that,  if  ) 


REVIVAL  AT  WESTERN.  153 

did  not  take  care,  I  should  go  beyond  my  strength  and  break 
down.  But  the  Spirit  of  prayer  was  upon  me,  and  I  would 
not  resist  him  ;  but  gave  him  scope,  and  let  out  my  strength 
freely,  in  pouring  my  soul  out  to  God.  It  was  November, 
and  the  weather  was  becoming  cold.  Mr.  Gale  and  I  had 
been  out  visiting  inquirers  with  his  horse  and  buggy.  We 
came  home  and  went  into  the  barn,  and  put  out  the  horse. 
Instead  of  going  into  the  house,  I  crept  up  into  the  hay-loft 
to  pour  out  my  burdened  soul  to  God  in  prayer.  I  prayed 
until  my  burden  left  me.  I  was  so  far  exhausted  that  I  fell 
down,  and  lost  myself  in  sleep.  I  must  have  fallen  asleep 
almost  instantly,  I  judge,  from  the  fact  that  I  had  no  recol 
lection  of  any  time  elapsing,  after  the  struggle  in  my  soul 
was  over.  The  first  I  knew,  Mi  rale  came  climbing  up  into 
the  hay-loft,  and  said,  "  Brother  Finney,  are  you  dead  ?"  I 
awoke,  and  at  first  could  give  no  account  why  I  was  there 
asleep,  and  could  form  no  idea  how  long  I  had  been  there. 
But  this  I  knew,  that  my  mind  was  calm  and  my  faith 
unwavering.  The  work  would  go  on,  of  that  I  felt  assured. 
I  have  already  said  that  I  was  ordained  to  the  ministry 
by  a  presbytery.  This  was  years  before  the  division  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  into  what  is  known  as  the  Old  and  New 
School  Assemblies.  The  well  known  doctrine  of  natural  and 
moral  ability  and  inability,  was  held  by  the  Presbyterian 
church,  almost  universally,  m  the  region  where  I  com 
menced  my  ministry.  I  mLit  here  repeat  also  that  Mr. 
Gale,  who,  by  direction  of  the  presbytery,  had  attended 
somewhat  to  my  theological  studies,  held  firmly  to  the  doc 
trine  of  the  sinner's  inability  to  obey  God  ,  and  the  subject 
as  he  presented  it  in  his  preaching,  as  was  the  case  with  most 
of  the  Presbyterian  ministers  of  that  day,  left  the  impres 
sion  upon  the  people  that  they  must  wait  God's  time.  If 
they  were  elect,  in  due  time  the  Spirit  would  convert  them  ; 
,  f  they  were  non-elect,  nothing  that  they  could  do  for  them- 
3elves,  or  that  anybody  else  could  do  for  them,  would  ever 
savingly  benefit  them. 

**  \    "£i 


MEMOIBS   OP   CHAKLE8   Q. 

They  held  the  doctrine  that  moral  depravity  was  conste- 
tutional,  and  belonged  to  the  very  nature  ;  that  the  will, 
though  free  to  do  evil,  was  utterly  impotent  to  all  good  ; 
that  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  changing  the  heart,  was 
a  physical  operation  on  the  substance  or  essence  of  the  soul ; 
that  the  sinner  was  passive  in  regeneration,  till  the  Holy 
Spirit  had  implanted  a  new  principle  in  his  nature,  and  that 
all  efforts  on  his  part  were  utterly  unavailing  ;  that  properly 
speaking  there  were  no  means  of  regeneration,  this  being  a 
physical  re-creation  of  the  soul  by  the  direct  agency  of  the 
Holy  Ghost ;  that  the  atonement  was  limited  to  the 
elect,  and  that  for  the  non-elect  to  be  saved  was  an  utter 
impossibility. 

In  my  studies  and  controversies  with  Mr.  Gale,  I  had 
maintained  the  opposite  of  this.  I  assumed  that  moral  de 
pravity  is,  and  must  be,  a  voluntary  attitude  of  the  mind  ; 
that  it  does,  and  must,  consist  in  the  committal  of  the  will  to 
the  gratification  of  the  desires,  or  as  the  Bible  expresses  it,  of 
the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  as  opposed  to  that  which  the  law  of 
God  requires.  In  consistency  with  this  I  maintained  that 
the  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  God  upon  the  soul  of  man  is 
moral,  that  is  persuasive  ;  that  Christ  represented  him  as  a 
teacher ;  that  his  work  is  to  convict  and  convert  the  sin 
ner,  by  divine  teaching  and  persuasion. 

I  held  also  that  there  are  means  of  regeneration,  and 
that  the  truths  of  the  Bible  are,  in  their  nature,  calculated 
to  lead  the  sinner  to  abandon  his  wickedness  and  turn  to 
God.  I  held  dlso  that  there  must  be  an  adaptation  of  means 
to  the  end  to  be  secured ;  that  is,  that  the  intelligence  must 
be  enlightened,  the  unreasonableness  of  moral  depravity 
must  be  set  before  the  sinner,  and  its  wickedness  and  ill- 
desert  clearly  revealed  to  him  ;  that  when  this  was  done  the 
mission  of  Christ  could  be  strongly  presented,  and  could  be 
understood  by  him  ;  that  taking  this  course  with  the  sinner, 
had  a  ten  dency  to  convert  him  to  Christ ;  and  that  when 
this  was  faithfully  and  prayerfully  done,  we  had  a  right  tc 


REVIVAL   AT   WESTEliN.  155 

expect  the  Holy  Spirit  to  co-operate  with  us,  giving  effect  to 
our  feeble  effort. 

Furthermore,  I  held  that  the  Holy  Spirit  operates  in  the 
preacher,  clearly  revealing  these  truths  in  their  proper  order 
to  him,  and  enabling  him  to  set  them  before  the  people,  in 
such  proportion,  and  in  such  order  as  is  calculated  to  convert 
them.  I  understood  then,  as  I  do  now,  the  charge  and 
promise  which  Christ  gave  to  the  apostles  and  to  the  church, 
to  be  applicable  in  the  present  day  :  "  Go  and  disciple  all 
nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of 
the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  lo,  I  am  with  you 
alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world. " 

This  I  regarded  as  a  charge  committed  to  ma,  to  all 
ministers,  and  to  the  church  ;  with  the  express  promise  that 
when  we  go  forth  to  this  work,  with  a  single  eye,  and  with  a 
prayerful  heart,  Christ  will  be  with  us  by  his  Spirit,  giving 
efficiency  to  our  efforts  to  save  souls.  It  appeared  to  me 
then,  as  it  ever  h»o  since,  that  the  great  failure  of  the  min 
istry  and  of  the  church,  in  promoting  religion,  consisted,  in 
great  measure,  in  the  want  of  a  suitable  adaptation  of  means 
to  that  end.  I  had  sat  under  Mr.  Gale's  preaching  for  years, 
and  could  never  see  any  adaptation  in  his  preaching  to  con 
vert  anybody.  It  did  not  appear  to  me  as  if  that  could  have 
been  his  design.  I  found  the  same  was  true  of  all  tea  ser 
mons  that  I  heard,  anywhere.  I  had  on  one  occasion  spoken 
to  Mr.  Gale  on  this  subject,  and  said  to  him,  that  of  all  the 
causes  that  were  ever  plead,  the  cause  of  religion,  I  thought, 
had  the  fewest  able  advocates  ;  and  that  if  advocates  at  the 
bar  should  pursue  the  same  course  in  pleading  the  cause  ot 
th#>ir  clients,  that  ministers  do  in  pleading  the  cause  of  Christ 
wim  sinners,  they  would  riot  gain  a  single  case. 

But  at  that  time,  Mr.  Gale  could  not  see  it ;  tor  what 
connection  was  there  between  means  and  ends,  upon  his  view 
of  what  regeneration  consisted  in,  and  the  manner  in  which 
the  Holy  Spirit  changed  the  heart  ? 

AJB  an  illustration,  soon  after  I  began  to  preach,  in  the 


156  MEMOIRS   OF  CHAELES   G.    FIKNBY. 

midst  of  a  powerful  revival,  a  young  man  from  the  theological 
seminary  at  Princeton,  came  into  the  place.  The  former 
pastor  of  the  church,  an  elderly  gentlemen,  lived  there,  and 
had  a  great  curiosity  to  hear  this  young  man  preach.  The 
church  had  no  pastor  at  the  time  ;  I  therefore  had  the  sole 
charge  of  the  pulpit,  and  was  conducting  things  according 
to  my  own  discretion.  He  said  he  had  known  the  young 
man  before  he  went  to  college,  and  he  desired  very  much  to 
see  what  proficiency  he  had  made  ;  and  wanted  I  should  let 
him  preach.  I  said  I  was  afraid  to  set  him  to  preach,  lest 
he  should  mar  the  work,  by  not  preaching  that  which  was 
needed  at  the  time.  "  Oh/'  said  the  old  gentleman,  "  he 
will  preach  the  truth  ;  and  there  is  no  connection  in  religion, 
you  know,  between  means  and  ends,  and  therefore  there  is 
no  danger  of  his  marring  the  work."  I  replied,  "  That  is 
not  my  doctrine.  I  believe  there  is  as  much  connection 
between  means  and  ends  in  religion  as  in  nature  ;  and 
therefore  cannot  consent  to  let  him  preach." 

I  have  often  found  it  necessary  to  take  substantially  the 
same  course  in  revivals  of  religion  ;  and  sometimes,  by  doing 
so,  I  have  found  that  I  gave  offence  ;  but  I  dared  not  do  other 
wise.  In  the  inidst  of  a  revival  of  religion,  and  when  souls 
needed  peculiar  instruction,  adapted  to  their  present  condition 
and  their  present  wants,  I  dared  not  put  a  stranger  into  the 
pulpit,  where  I  had  the  charge,  to  preach  any  of -his  great 
sermons,  and  generally  too,  a  sermon  not  at  all  adapted  to 
the  wants  of  the  people  For  this  course  I  have  frequently 
been  accused  of  supposing  that  I  could  preach  better  than 
others.  And  I  confess  I  did  suppose  that  I  could  meet  the 
wants  of  the  people,  better  than  those  that  knew  less  about 
them,  or  than  those  that  would  preach  their  old  written  ser 
mons  to  them  ;  and  I  supposed  that  Christ  had  put  the 
work  into  my  hands  in  such  a  sense,  that  I  was  under  obli 
gation  to  adapt  means  to  ends,  and  not  call  upon  others 
who  knew  little  of  the  state  of  things,  to  attempt  to  instruct 
the  people.  I  did  in  these  cases  just  as  I  would  be  done  bv 


REVIVAL  AT   WESTERN.  157 

I  wou,  i  not  allow  myself  to  go  in  where  another  man  was 
laboring  to  promote  a  revival,  and  suffer  myself  to  be  put  IB 
his  place,  when  I  knew  little  or  nothing  about  the  state  of 
the  people. 

I  have  said  that  at  Western  T  was  the  guest  of  Mr.  Gale, 
%nd  that  he  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  he  was  never 
converted.  He  told  me  the  progress  of  his  mind  ;  that  he 
had  firmly  believed,  as  he  had  so  frequently  urged  upon  me, 
that  God  would  not  bless  my  labors,  because  I  would  not 
preach  what  he  regarded  as  the  truths  of  the  Gospel.  But 
when  he  found  that  the  Spirit  of  God  did  accompany  my 
labors,  it  led  him  to  the  conclusion  that  he  was  wrong  ;  and 
this  led  him  to  sucn  an  overhauling  of  his  whole  state  of 
mind,  and  of  his  views  as  a  preacher,  as  resulted  in  his  com 
ing  to  the  conclusion  that  he  had  never  been  converted,  and 
did  not  understand  the  Gospel  himself.  During  the  revival 
in  Wep^ern,  he  attended  nearly  all  the  meetings  ;  *nd  before 
manjT  3eks,  he  told  me  he  had  come  into  an  entirely  differ 
ent  stata  of  mind  in  regard  to  his  own  soul,  and  had  changed 
his  views  of  the  Gospel,  and  thought  I  was  right.  He  said 
he  thanked  God  that  he  had  had  no  influence  with  me,  to 
lead  me  to  adopt  his  views  ;  that  I  should  have  been  ruined 
as  a  minister  if  he  had  prevailed.  From  this  time  he  be 
came  a  very  efficient  worker,  so  far  as  his  health  vould  per 
mit,  in  the  revival  in  that  region  of  country. 

The  doctrine  upon  which  I  insisted,  that  the  command 
to  obey  God  implied  tht  power  to  do  so,  created  in  some 
places  considerable  opposition  at  first.  Denying  also,  as  I 
did,  that  moral  depravity  is  physical,  or  the  depravity  of 
the  nature,  and  maintaining,  as  I  did,  that  it  is  altogether 
voluntary,  and  therefore  that  the  Spirit's  influences  are 
those  of  teaching,  persuading,  convicting,  and,  of  course,  a 
moral  influence,  I  was  regarded  by  many  as  teaching  new 
and  strange  doctrines.  Indeed,  as  late  as  1832,  when  I  was 
laboring  in  Boston  for  the  first  time,  Dr.  Beecher  said  that 
he  never  had  heard  the  doctrine  preached  before,  that  the 


158  MEMOIRS   OF   CHAKLBS   G.    FIK1TBY. 

Spirit's  inHuencee  are  moral,  as  opposed  to  physical.  There 
fore,  to  a  considerable  extent,  ministers  and  Christies  re 
garded  that  doctrine  as  virtually  a  denial  of  the  Spirit's 
influence  altogether ;  and  hence,  although  1  ever  insisted 
very  much,  and  i  cessantly,  upon  the  divine  agency  in  con 
viction  and  regeneration,  and  in  every  Christian  exercise; 
yet  it  was  a  long  time  before  the  cry  ceased  to  be  heard  that 
I  denied  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  regeneration  and 
conversion.  It  was  said  that  I  taught  self -con  version,  self- 
regeneration ;  and  not  unf requently  was  T  /ebuked  for 
addressing  the  sinner,  as  if  the  blame  of  his  impenitence  all 
belong*  I  to  himself,  and  for  urging  him  to  immediate  sub 
mission.  However,  I  persisted  in  this  course  and  it  was 
seen  by  ministers  and  Christians  that  God  owned  it  as  his 
truth,  and  blessed  it  to  the  salvation  of  thousands  of  souls. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  meetings  at  Elmer's  Hill,  and  have 
said  that  people  from  Rome  and  Wright's  settlement  began 
to  come  in  large  numbers  ;  and  that  the  manifest  effect  of 
the  word  upon  those  that  came,  plainly  indicated  that  th<? 
work  was  r«~»idlv  extending:  in  that  direction. 


XIII. 

BBVIVAL   A!   BOMB. 

AT  this  time  Rev.  Moses  Gillett,  pastor  of  the  (Jongre 
gational  Church  in  Rome,  hearing  what  the  Lord  wag 

uo.ng  in  Western,  came,  in  company  with  a  Miss  H , 

one  of  the  prominent  members  of  his  church,  to  see  the 
work  that  was  going  on.  They  were  both  greatly  impressed 
with  the  work  of  God.  I  could  see  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
was  stirring  them  up  to  the  deepest  foundations  of  their 

minds.     After  a  few  days,  Mr.  Gillett  and  Miss  II came 

up  again.     Miss  H was  a  very   devout   and    earnest 

Christian  girl.  On  their  second  coming  up,  Mr.  Gillett 
says  to  me,  "  Brother  Finney,  it  seems  to  me  that  I  have  a 
new  Bible.  I  never  before  understood  the  promises  as  I  do 
now  ,  I  never  got  hold  of  them  before  ;  I  cannot  rest,"  said 
he ;  "my  mind  is  full  of  the  subject,  and  the  promises  are 
new  to  me."  This  conversation,  protracted  as  it  was  for 
some  time,  gave  me  to  understand  that  the  Lord  was  pre 
paring  him  for  a  great  work  in  his  own  congregation. 

Soon  after  this,  and  when  the  revival  was  in  its  full 
strength  at  Western,  Mr.  Gillett  persuaded  me  to  exchange 
a  day  with  him.  I  consented  reluctantly. 

On  the  Saturday  before  the  day  of  our  exchange,  on  my 
way  to  Rome,  I  greatly  regretted  that  I  had  consented  to 
the  exchange.  I  felt  that  it  would  greatly  mar  the  work  in 
Western,  because  Mr.  Gillett  would  preach  some  of  his  old 
sermons,  which  I  knew  very  well  could  not  be  adapted  to 
the  state  of  things.  However  the  people  were  praying  ;  and 
it  would  not  stop  the  work,  although  it  might  retard  it.  I 
weat  to  Rome  and  preached  three  times  on  the  Sabbath.  To 


160  MEMOIRS  OF  CHARLES  G. 

me  it  was  perfectly  manifest  that  the  word  took  great  effwt 
I  could  see  during  the  day  that  many  heads  were  down,  an3 
that  a  great  number  of  them  were  bowed  down  with  deej 
conviction  for  sin.  I  pr^xvched  in  the  morning  on  the  text 
tf  The  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God  ;  "  and  followed  i! 
up  with  something  in  the  same  direction,  in  the  afternoor 
and  evening.  I  waited  on  Monday  morning,  till  Mr, 
Gillett  returned  from  Western.  I  told  him  what  my  impres 
sions  were  in  respect  to  the  state  of  the  people.  He  did  noi 
seem  to  realize  that  the  work  was  beginning  with  such 
power  as  I  supposed.  But  he  wanted  to  call  for  inquirers, 
if  there  were  any  in  the  congregation,  and  wished  me  to  be 
present  at  the  meeting.  1  have  said  before,  that  the  means 
that  1  had  all  along  used,  thus  far,  in  promoting  revivals, 
were  much  prayer,  secret  and  social,  public  preaching, 
personal  conversation,  and  visitation  from  house  to  house  ; 
and  when  inquirers  became  multiplied,  I  appointed  meetings 
for  them,  and  invited  those  that  were  inquiring  to  meet  for 
instruction,  suited  to  their  necessities.  These  were  the 
means  and  the  only  means,  that  I  had  thus  far  used,  in 
attempting  to  secure  the  conversion  of  souls. 

Mr.  Gillett  asked  me  to  be  present  at  the  proposed  meet 
ing  of  inquiry.  I  told  him  I  would  ;  and  that  he  might  cir 
culate  information  through  the  village,  that  there  would  be 
a  meeting  of  inquiry,  on  Monday  evening.  I  would  go  to 
Western,  and  return  just  at  evening  ;  it  being  understood 
that  he  was  not  to  let  the  people  know  that  he  expected  me 
to  be  present  The  meeting  was  called  at  the  house  of  one 
of  his  deacons.  When  we  arrived,  we  found  the  large 
sitting-room  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity.  Mr.  GJUett 
looked  around  with  surprise,  and  manifest  agitation  ;  for  he 
found  that  the  meeting  was  composed  of  many  of  the  most 
intelligent  and  influential  members  of  his  congregation  ;  and 
especially  was  largely  composed  of  the  prominent  young  men 
in  the  town.  We  spent  a  little  while  in  attempting  to  con 
verse  with  them  :  and  1  soon  saw  that  the  feeling  was  so 


ttEVIVAL  AT  BOMB.  161 

1eep,  that  there  was  danger  of  an  outburst  of  feeling,  that 
would  be  almost  uncontrollable.  I  therefore  said  to  Mr, 
GHllett,  "It  will  not  do  to  continue  the  meeting  in  this 
shape.  I  will  make  some  remarks,  such  as  they  need,  and 
then  dismiss  them  " 

Nothing  had  been  said  or  done  to  create  any  excitement 
in  the  meeting.  The  feeling  was  all  spontaneous.  The 
work  was  with  such  power,  that  even  a  few  words  of  conver 
sation  would  make  the  stoutest  men  writhe  on  their  seats, 
as  if  a  sword  had  been  thrust  into  their  hearts.  It  would 
probably  not  be  possible  for  one  who  had  never  witnessed 
such  a  scene,  to  realize  what  the  force  of  the  truth  some 
times  is,  under  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  was  indeed, 
a  sword,  and  a  two-edged  sword.  The  pain  that  it  produced 
when  searchingly  presented  in  a  few  words  of  conversation, 
would  create  a  distress  that  seemed  unendurable. 

Mr.  Gillett  became  very  much  agitated.  He  turned 
pale  ;  and  with  a  good  deal  of  excitement  he  said,  "  What 
shall  we  do  ?  What  shall  we  do  ?  "  I  put  my  hand  on  his 
shoulder,  and  in  a  whisper  said,  "  Keep  quiet,  keep  quiet, 
brother  Gillett."  I  then  addressed  them  in  as  gentle  but 
plain  a  manner  as  I  could ;  calling  their  attention  at  once 
to  their  only  remedy,  and  assuring  them  that  it  was  a  pres 
ent  and  all-sufficient  remedy.  I  pointed  them  to  Christ,  as 
the  Saviour  of  the  world  ;  and  kept  on  in  this  strain  as 
long  as  they  could  well  endure  it,  which,  indeed,  was  but  a 
few  moments. 

Mr.  Gillett  became  so  agitated  that  I  stepped  up  to  him, 
and  taking  him  by  the  arm  I  said,  "  Let  us  pray."  We 
knelt  down  in  the  middle  of  the  room  where  we  had  been 
standing.  I  led  in  prayer,  in  a  low,  unimpassioned  voice  ; 
but  interceded  with  the  Saviour  to  interpose  his  blood,  then 
and  there,  and  to  lead  all  these  sinners  to  accept  the  salva 
tion  which  he  proffered,  and  to  believe  to  the  saving  of  their 
souls.  The  agitation  deepened  every  moment ;  and  as  I 
could  hear  their  sobs,  and  siffhs.  I  closed  my  prayer  and 


162  MEMOIRS  OF   CHARLES   G.    FINNEY. 

suddenly  from   my   knees.     They   all   arose,    and   I 
"  Now  please  go  home  without  speaking  a  word  *cn 

other.  Try  to  keep  silent,  and  do  not  break  out  into  any 
boisterous  manifestation  of  feeling  ;  but  go  without  saying 
a  word,  to  your  rooms." 

At  this  moment  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  W ,  a 

jlerk  in  Mr.  H Js  store,  being  one  of  the  first  young  men 

in  the  place,  so  nearly  fainted,  that  he  fell  upon  some  young 
men  that  stood  near  him  ;  and  they  all  of  them  partially 
swooned  away,  and  fell  together.  This  had  well-nigh  pro 
duced  a  loud  shrieking  ,  but  I  hushed  them  down,  and  said 
to  the  young  men,  "  Please  set  that  door  wide  open,  and  go 
out,  and  let  all  retire  in  silence."  They  did  as  I  requested. 
They  did  not  shriek ;  but  they  went  out  sobbing  and 
sighing,  and  their  sobs  and  sighs  could  be  heard  till  they 
got  out  into  the  street. 

This  Mr.  W ,  to  whom  I  have  alluded,  kept  silence 

till  he  entered  the  door  where  he  lived ;  but  he  could 
contain  himself  no  longer.  He  shut  the  door,  fell  upon  the 
floor,  and  burst  out  into  a  loud  wailing,  in  view  of  his 
awful  condition.  This  brought  the  family  around  him,  and 
scattered  conviction  among  the  whole  of  them, 

I  afterwards  learned  that  similar  scenes  occurred  in  other 
.amilies.  Several,  as  it  was  afterwards  ascertained,  were 
conversed  at  the  meeting,  and  went  home  so  full  of  joy,  that 
they  could  hardly  contain  themselves. 

The  next  morning,  as  soon  as  it  was  fairly  day,  people 

'  *>gan  to  call  at  Mr.  Gillett's,  to  have  us  go  and  visit  mem- 

vrs  of  their  families,  whom  they  represented  as  being  undei 

,/ie  greatest  conviction.     We  took  a  hasty  breakfast,  and 

tarted  out.     As  soon  as  we  were  in  the  streets,  the  people 

ran  out  from  many  houses,  and  begged  us  to  go  into  their 

houses.     As  we  could  only  visit  but  one  place  at  a  time,  when 

fw  went  into  a  house,  the  neighbors  would  rush  in  and  fill 

the  largest  room.     We  would  stay  and  give  them  instruction 


REVIVAL   AT    ROME.  163 

for  a  short  time,  and  then  go  to  another  house,  and  the 
people  would  follow  us. 

We  found  a  most  extraordinary  state  of  things.     Con 
victions  were  so  deep  and  universal,  that  we  would  some 
times  go  into  a  house,  and  find  some  in  a  kneeling  posture, 
and  some  prostrate   on   the  floor.     We  visited,  and   con 
versed,  and  prayed  in  this  manner,   from  house  to  house, 
till  noon.     I  then  said  to  Mr.  Gillett,  "  This  will  never  do  ; 
we  must  have  a  meeting  of  inquiry.     We  cannot  go  from 
house  to  house,  and  we  are  not  meeting  the  wants  of  the 
people  at  all."    He  agreed  with  me  ;  but  the  question,  arose, 
where  shall  we  have  the  meeting  ? 

A  Mr.  F ,  a  religious  man,  at  that  time  kept  a  hotel, 

on  the  corner,  at  the  centre  of  the  town.  He  had  a  large, 
dining-room  ;  and  Mr.  Gillett  said,  "  I  will  step  in  and  see 
if  I  cannot  be  allowed  to  appoint  the  meeting  of  inquiry  in 
his  dining-room."  Without  difficulty  he  obtained  consent, 
and  then  went  immediately  to  the  public  schools,  and  gave 
notice  that  at  one  o'clock  there  would  be  a  meeting  of  in 
quiry  at  Mr.  F 's  dining-room.  We  went  home,  and 

took  our  dinner,  and  started  for  the  meeting.  We  saw 
people  hurrying,  and  some  of  them  actually  running  to  the 
meeting.  They  were  coming  from  every  direction.  By  the 
time  we  were  there,  the  room,  though  a  large  one,  was 
crammed  to  its  utmost  capacity.  Men,  women,  and  children 
crowded  the  apartment. 

This  meeting  was  very  much  like  the  one  we  had  had  the 
night  before.  The  feeling  was  overwhelming.  Some  men 
of  the  strongest  nerves  were  so  cut  down  by  the  remarks 
which  were  made,  that  they  were  unable  to  help  themselves, 
and  had  to  be  taken  home  by  their  friends.  This  meeting 
lasted  till  nearly  night  It  resulted  in  a  great  number  of 
hopeful  conversions,  and  was  the  means  of  greatly  extending 
the  work  on  every  side. 

I  preached  that  evening,  and  Mr.  Gillett  appointed  a 
meeting  for  inquiry,  the  next  morning  in  the  court-house- 


164  MBMOIKB   OF    JHAKLES   i*.     PLNNE*. 

This  was  a  much  larger  room  than  the  dining  hall,  though 
it  was  not  so  central.  However,  at  the  hour,  the  court 
house  was  crowded  ;  and  we  spent  a  good  part  of  the  day  in 
giving  instruction,  and  the  work  went  on  with  wonderful 
power.  I  preached  again  in  the  evening,  and  Mr.  Gillett 
appointed  a  meeting  of  inquiry,  the  next  morning,  at  the 
church ;  as  no  other  room  in  the  village  was  then  large 
enough  to  hold  the  inquirers. 

At  evening,  if  I  rightly  remember  the  order  of  things, 
we  undertook  to  hold  a  prayer  and  conference  meeting  in  a 
large  school-house.  But  the  meeting  was  hardly  begun 
before  the  feeling  deepened  so  much  that,  to  prevent  an 
undesirable  outburst  of  overwhelming  feeling,  I  proposed 
to  Mr.  Gillett  that  we  should  dismiss  the  meeting,  and  request 
the  people  to  go  in  silence,  and  Christians  to  spend  the  eve 
ning  in  secret  prayer,  or  in  family  prayer,  as  might  seem 
most  desirable.  Sinners  we  exhorted  not  to  sleep,  until  they 
gave  their  hearts  to  G-od.  After  this  the  work  became  so 
general  that  I  preached  every  night,  I  think,  for  twenty 
nights  in  succession,  and  twice  on  the  Sabbath.  Our  prayer- 
meetings  during  this  time  were  held  in  the  church,  in  the  day 
time.  The  prayer-meeting  was  held  one  part  of  the  day,  and 
a  meeting  for  inquiry  the  other  part.  Every  day,  if  I  remem 
ber  aright,  after  the  work  had  thus  commenced,  we  held  a 
prayer-meeting  and  a  meeting  for  inquiry,  with  preaching 
in  the  evening.  There  was  a  solemnity  throughout  the 
whole  place,  and  an  awe  that  made  everybody  feel  that  God 
was  there. 

Ministers  came  in  from  neighboring  towns,  and  expressed 
great  astonishment  at  what  they  saw  and  heard,  as  well  they 
might.  Conversions  multiplied  so  rapidly,  that  we  had  no 
way  of  learning  who  were  converted.  Therefore  every  eve 
ning,  at  the  close  of  my  sermon,  I  requested  all  who  had  been 
converted  that  day,  to  come  forward  and  report  themselves 
in  front  of  the  pulpit,  that  we  might  have  a  little  conver- 


REVIVAL   AT   ROME.  165 

aation  with  them.     We  were  every  night  surprised  by  the 
number  and  the  class  of  persons  that  came  forward. 

At  one  of  our  morning  prayer-meetings,  the  lower  part 
of  the  church  was  full.  I  arose  and  was  making  some  re 
marks  to  the  people,  when  an  unconverted  man,  a  mer 
chant,  came  into  the  meeting.  He  came  along  till  he  found 
a  seat  in  front  of  me,  and  near  where  I  stood  speaking.  He 
aad  sat  but  a  few  moments,  when  he  fell  from  his  seat  as  if 
he  had  been  shot.  He  writhed  and  groaned  in  a  terrible 
manner.  I  stepped  to  the  pew  door,  and  saw  that  it  was 
altogether  an  agony  of  mind. 

A  sceptical  physician  sat  near  him.  He  stepped  out  of 
nis  slip,  and  came  and  examined  this  man  who  was  thus  dis 
tressed.  He  felt  his  pulse,  and  examined  the  case  for  a  few 
moments.  He  said  nothing,  but  turned  away,  and  leaned 
his  head  against  a  post  that  supported  the  gallery,  and 
manifested  great  agitation. 

He  said  afterward  that  he  saw  at  once  that  it  was  dis 
tress  of  mind,  and  it  took  his  scepticism  entirely  away. 
He  was  soon  after  hopefully  converted.  We  engaged  in 
prayer  for  the  man  who  fell  in  the  pew  ;  and  before  he  left 
the  house,  I  believe,  his  anguish  passed  away,  and  he  re 
joiced  in  Christ. 

Another  physician,  a  very  amiable  man  but  a  sceptic, 
had  a  little  daughter  and  a  praying  wife.  Little  H — -,  a 
girl  perhaps  eight  or  nine  years  old,  was  strongly  convicted 
of  sin,  and  her  mother  was  greatly  interested  in  her  state  of 
mind.  But  her  father  was,  at  first,  quite  indignant.  He 
said  to  his  wife,  "  The  subject  of  religion  is  too  high  for  me. 
I  never  could  understand  it.  And  do  you  tell  me  that  that 
little  child  understands  it  so  as  to  be  intelligently  convicted 
of  sin  ?  I  do  not  believe  it.  I  know  better.  I  cannot 
endure  it.  It  is  fanaticism  ;  it  is  madness."  Nevertheless 
the  mother  of  the  child  held  fast  in  prayer.  The  doctor 
made  these  remarks,  as  I  learned,  with  a  good  deal  of  spirit 
Immediately  he  took  his  horse,  and  went  several  miles  to  see 


OF   CHARLES   G.    FINNEY. 

a  patient  On  his  way,  as  he  afterward  remarked,  that  gu«> 
ject  took  possession  of  his  mind  in  such  a  manner,  that  it  war 
*U  opened  to  his  understanding  ;  and  the  whole  plan  of  sal 
vation  by  Christ  was  so  clear  to  him  that  he  saw  that  a  child 
could  understand  it.  He  wondered  that  it  had  ever  seemed 
so  mysterious  to  him.  He  regretted  exceedingly  that  he  had 

said  what  he  had  to  his  wife  about  little  H .  and  felt  in 

haste  to  get  home  that  he  might  take  it  back.  He  soon  came 
home,  another  man  ;  told  his  wife  what  had  passed  in  hia 

own  mind  ;  encouraged  dear  little  H to  come  to  Christ ; 

and  both  father  and  daughter  have  since  been  earnest  Chris 
tians,  and  have  lived  long  and  done  much  good. 

But  in  this  revival,  as  in  others  that  I  have  known,  God 
did  some  terrible  things  in  righteousness.  On  one  Sabbath 
while  I  was  there,  as  we  came  out  of  the  pulpit,  and  were 
about  to  leave  the  church,  a  man  came  in  haste  to  Mr.  Gillett 
and  myself,  and  requested  us  to  go  to  a  certain  place,  saying 
that  a  man  had  fallen  down  dead  there.  I  was  engaged  in 
conversing  with  somebody,  and  Mr.  Gillett  went  alone. 
.When  I  was  through  with  the  conversation,  I  went  to  Mr. 
Gillett's  house,  and  he  soon  returned  and  related  this  fact. 
Three  men  who  had  been  opposing  the  work,  had  met  that 
Sabbath-day,  and  spent  the  day  in  drinking  and  ridiculing 
the  work.  They  went  on  in  this  way  until  one  of  them  sud 
denly  fell  dead.  When  Mr.  Gillett  arrived  at  the  house,  and 
the  circumstances  were  related  to  MMI,  he  said,  "  There  I 
there  is  no  doubt  but  that  man  has  been  stricken  down  by 
God,  and  has  been  sent  to  hell."  His  companions  were 
speechless.  They  could  say  nothing  ;  for  it  was  evident  to 
them  that  their  conduct  had  brought  upon  him  this  awful 
stroke  of  divine  indignation. 

As  the  work  proceeded,  it  gathered  in  nearly  the  whole 
population.  Nearly  every  one  of  the  lawyers,  merchants, 
and  physicians,  and  almost  all  the  principal  men,  and  indeed, 
nearly  all  the  adult  population  of  the  village,  were  brought 
in,  especially  those  who  belonged  to  Mr.  Gillett'g  congress- 


HBTIVAL   AT   ROME.  161 

tion.  He  said  to  me  before  I  left,  "  So  far  as  my  congrega 
tion  is  concerned,  the  millennium  is  come  already.  My  peo 
ple  are  all  converted.  Of  all  my  past  labors  I  have  not  a 
sermon  that  is  suited  at  all  to  my  congregation,  for  they  arc 
all  Christians."  Mr.  Gillett  afterward  reported  that,  during 
the  twenty  days  that  I  spent  at  Rome,  there  were  five  hun 
dred  conversions  in  that  town. 

During  the  progress  of  this  work,  a  good  deal  of  excite 
ment  sprung  up  in  Utica,  and  some  there  were  disposed  to 

ridicule  the  work  at  Rome.     Mr.  H ,  who  lived  at  Rome, 

was  a  very  prominent  citizen,  and  was  regarded  as  standing 
at  the  head  of  society  there,  in  point  of  wealth  and  intelli 
gence.  But  he  was  sceptical  ;  or,  perhaps  I  should  say,  he 
held  Unitarian  views.  He  was  a  very  moral  and  respectable 
man,  and  held  his  peculiar  views  unobtrusively,  saying  very 
little  to  anybody  about  them.  The  first  Sabbath  I  preached 

there,  Mr.  H was  present ;  and  he  was  so  astonished,  as 

he  afterwards  told  me,  at  my  preaching,  that  he  made  up 
his  mind  that  he  would  not  go  again.  He  went  home  and 
said  to  his  family:  "That  man  is  mad,  and  I  should  not  be 
surprised  if  he  set  the  town  on  fire."  He  stayed  away  from 
the  meeting  for  some  two  weeks.  In  the  meantime  the 
work  became  so  great  as  to  confound  his  scepticism,  and  he 
was  in  a  state  of  great  perplexity. 

He  was  president  of  a  bank  in  Utica,  and  used  to  go 
iown  to  attend  the  weekly  meeting  of  the  directors.  On 
one  of  these  occasions,  one  of  the  directors  began  to  rally 
him  on  the  state  of  things  in  Rome,  as  if  they  were  all  run 
ning  mad  there.  Mr.  H remarked,  "  Gentlemen,  say 

what  you  will,  there  is  something  very  remarkable  in  the 
state  of  things  in  Rome.  Certainly  no  human  power  or 
eloquence  has  produced  what  we  see  there.  I  cannot  under 
stand  it.  You  say  it  will  soon  subside.  No  doubt  the 
intensity  of  feeling  that  is  now  in  Rome,  must  soon  subside, 
or  the  people  will  become  insane.  But,  gentlemen,"  said 


168  MEMOIB8  OP  CHARLES  G.    FISTtfEY. 

he,  "there  is  no  accounting  for  that  state  of  feeling  by  any 
philosophy,  unless  there  be  something  divine  in  it." 

After  Mr.  H had  stayed  away  from  the  meeting 

about  two  weeks,  a  few  of  us  assembled  one  afternoon,  to 
make  him  a  special  subject  of  prayer.  The  Lord  gave  ua 
strong  faith  in  praying  for  him  ;  and  we  felt  the  conviction 
that  the  Lord  was  working  in  hk  soul  That  evening  he 
came  to  meeting.  When  he  came  into  the  house,  Mr.  Gillett 
whispered  to  me  as  we  sat  in  the  pulpit,  and  said,  "  Brother 
Pinney,  Mr.  H has  come.  I  hope  you  will  not  say  any 
thing  that  will  offend  him."  "  No,"  said  I,  "  but  I  shall  not 
spare  him."  In  those  days  I  was  obliged  to  preach  altogether 
without  premeditation  ;  for  I  had  not  an  hour  in  a  week, 
which  I  could  take  to  arrange  my  thoughts  beforehand. 

I  chose  my  subject  and  preached.  The  word  took  a 
powerful  hold  ;  and,  as  I  hoped  and  intended,  it  took  a  pow 
erful  hold  of  Mr.  H himself.  I  think  it  was  that  very 

night,  when  I  requested,  at  the  close  of  the  meeting,  all 
those  who  had  been  converted  that  day  and  evening  to  come 

forward  and  report  themselves,  Mr.  H was  one  who 

came  deliberately,  solemnly  forward,  and  reported  himself 
as  having  given  his  heart  to  God.  He  appeared  humble  and 
penitent,  and  I  have  always  supposed,  was  truly  converted 
to  Christ. 

The  state  of  things  in  the  village,  and  in  the  neighbor 
hood  round  about,  was  such  that  no  one  could  come  into  the 
village,  without  feeling  awe-stncken  with  the  impression  that 
God  was  there,  in  a  peculiar  and  wonderful  manner.  As  an 
illustration  of  this,  I  will  relate  an  incident.  The  sheriff  of 
the  county  resided  in  Utica.  There  were  two  court-houses 
in  the  county,  one  at  Rome,  and  the  other  at  Utica  ;  conse 
quently  the  sheriff,  B by  name,  had  much  business  at 

Rome.  He  afterwards  told  me  that  he  had  heard  of  the 
state  of  things  at  Rome  ;  and  he,  together  with  others,  had  a 
good  deal  of  laughing,  in  the  hotel  where  he  boarded,  about 
what  they  had  heard. 


BBVIYAL   AT    ROME.  169 

But  one  day  it  <vas  necessary  for  him  to  go  to  Rome. 
He  said  that  he  was  glad  to  have  business  there ;  for  he 
wanted  to  see  for  himself  what  it  was  that  people  talked  so 
much  about,  and  what  che  state  of  things  really  was  in  Borne. 
He  drove  on  in  his  one  horse  sleigh,  a?  b.e  told  me,  without 
any  particular  impression  upon  his  mind  at  all,  until  he 
crossed  what  was  called  the  old  canal,  a  place  about  a  mile, 
I  think,  from  the  town.  He  said  as  soon  as  he  crossed  the 
old  canal,  a  strange  impression  came  over  him,  an  awe  so 
deep  that  he  could  not  shake  it  off.  He  felt  as  if  God  per 
vaded  the  whole  atmosphere.  He  said  that  this  increased 
the  whole  way,  till  he  came  to  the  village.  He  stopped  at 

Mr.  F 's  hotel,  and  the  hostler  came  out  and  took  his 

horse.  He  observed,  he  said,  that  the  hostler  looked  just 
as  he  himself  felt,  as  if  he  were  afraid  to  speak.  He  went 
into  the  house,  and  found  the  gentleman  there  with  whom 
he  had  business.  He  said  they  were  manifestly  all  so  much 
impressed,  they  could  hardly  attend  to  business.  He  said 
that  several  times,  in  the  course  of  the  short  time  he  was 
there,  he  had  to  rise  from  the  table  abruptly,  and  go  to  the 
window  and  look  out,  and  try  to  divert  his  attention,  to 
keep  from  weeping.  He  observed,  he  said,  that  everybody 
else  appeared  to  feel  just  as  he  did.  Such  an  awe,  such  a 
solemnity,  such  a  stat*;  of  things,  he  had  never  had  any  con 
ception  of  before.  He  hastened  through  with  his  business, 
and  returned  to  Utica  ;  but,  as  he  said,  never  to  speak  lightly 
of  the  work  at  Rome  again.  A  few  weeks  later,  at  Utica,  he 
was  hopefully  converted  ;  the  circumstances  of  which  •"  shall 
relate  in  the  proper  place. 

I  have  spoken  of  Wright's  settlement,  a  village  north 
east  of  Rome,  some  two  or  three  miles.  The  revival  took 
powerful  effect  there,  and  converted  the  great  mass  of  the 
inhabitants. 

The  means  that  were  used  at  Rome,  were  such  as  I  had 
used  before,  and  no  others  ;  preaching,  public,  social,  and 
private  prayer,  exhortations,  and  personal  conversation.  11 
8 


MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G. 

is  difficult  to  conceive  so  deep  and  universal  a  state  of  relig 
ious  feeling,  with  no  instance  of  disorder,  or  tumult,  01 
fanaticism,  or  anything  that  was  objectionable,  as  was  wit 
nessed  at  Rome.  There  are  many  of  the  converts  of  that 
reviT<\l,  scattered  all  through  the  land,  living  to  this  day  ;  and 
they  L  m  testify  that  in  those  meetings  the  greatest  order  and 
solemnity  prevailed,  and  the  uti&cat  pains  were  taken  to 
guard  against  everything  that  was  to  be  deplored. 

The  Spirit's  work  was  so  spontaneous^  so  powerful  and 
so  overwhelming,  as  to  render  it  necessary  to  exercise  the 
greatest  caution  and  wisdom,  in  conducting  all  the  meetings, 
in  order  to  prevent  an  undesirable  outburst  of  feeling,  that 
soon  would  have  exhausted  the  sensibility  of  the  people,  and 
brought  about  a  reaction.  But  no  reaction  followed,  as 
every  body  knows  who  is  acquainted  with  the  facts.  They 
kept  up  a  sunrise  prayer-meeting  for  several  months,  and  I 
believe  for  more  than  a  year  afterwards,  at  all  seasons  of  the 
year,  that  was  very  fully  attended,  and  was  as  full  of  inter 
est  as  perhaps  a  prayer-meeting  could  well  be.  The  moral 
state  of  the  people  was  so  greatly  changed,  that  Mr.  Gillett 
often  remarked  that  :t  did  not  seem  Jike  the  same  place. 
Whatever  of  sin  wa*  left,  was  obliged  to  hide  its  head.  No 
open  immorality  could  be  tolerated  there  for  a  moment.  1 
have  given  only  a  very  faint  outline  o<  what  passed  at 
Rome.  A  faithful  description  of  all  the  moving  incidents 
that  were  crowded  into  that  revival,  wouid  make  a  volume 
of  itself. 

I  should  say  a  few  words  in  regard  to  the  spirit  of  prayer 
which  prevailed  at  Rome  at  this  time.  I  think  it  was  on 
the  Saturday  that  I  came  down  from  Western  to  exchange 
with  Mr.  Gillett,  that  I  met  the  church  in  the  afternoon  in 
a  prayer-meeting,  in  their  house  of  worsiiip.  I  endeavored 
to  make  them  understand  that  God  ^ould  immediately 
answer  prayer,  provided  they  fulfilled  the  conditions  upon 
which  he  had  promised  to  answer  prayer;  and  especially  if 
believed,  in  the  sense  of  expecting  him  to  answer  their 


KBYIVAL  AT   ROME.  171 

requests.  I  observed  that  the  church  were  greatly  inter 
ested  in  my  remarks,  and  their  countenances  manifested  an 
intense  desire  to  see  an  answer  to  their  prayers.  Near  the 
close  of  the  meeting  I  recollect  making  this  remark.  "  I 
really  believe,  if  you  will  unite  this  afternoon  in  the  prayer 
of  faith  to  God,  for  the  immediate  outpouring  of  his  Spirit, 
that  you  will  receive  an  answer  from  heaven,  sooner  than 
you  would  get  a  message  from  Albany,  by  the  quickest  post 
that  could  be  sent." 

I  said  this  with  great  emphasis,  and  felt  it ;  and  I 
observed  that  the  people  were  startled  with  my  expression 
of  earnestness  and  faith  in  respect  to  an  immediate  answer 
to  prayer.  The  fact  is,  I  had  so  often  seen  this  result  in 
answer  to  prayer,  that  I  made  the  remark  without  any  mis 
giving.  Nothing  was  said  by  any  of  the  members  of  the 
church  at  the  time  ;  but  I  learned  after  the  work  had  begun, 
that  three  or  four  members  of  the  church  called  in  at  Mr. 
Gillett's  study,  and  felt  so  impressed  with  what  had  been 
said  about  speedy  answers  to  prayer,  that  they  determined 
to  take  God  at  his  word,  and  see  whether  he  would  answer 
while  they  were  yet  speaking.  One  of  them  told  me  after 
wards  that  they  had  wonderful  faith  given  them  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  to  pray  for  an  immediate  answer ;  and  he 
added,  "  The  answer  did  come  quicker  than  we  could  have 
got  an  answer  from  Albany,  by  fhe  quickest  post  we  could 
have  sent." 

Indeed  the  town  was  full  of  prayer.  Go  where  you 
would,  you  heard  the  voice  of  prayer.  Pass  along  the  street, 
and  if  two  or  three  Christians  happened  to  be  together,  they 
were  praying.  Wherever  they  met  they  prayed.  Wherever 
there  was  a  sinner  unconverted,  especially  if  he  manifested 
any  opposition,  you  would  find  some  two  or  three  brethren 
or  sisters  agreeing  to  make  him  a  particular  subject  of 
prayer. 

There  was  the  wife  of  an  officer  in  the  United  State* 
army  residing  at  Borne,  the  daughter  of  a  prominent  citizen 


1TO  MEMOIRS  OF   CHARLES   G. 

of  that  place.     This  lady  manifested  a  good  deal  oi  opposi 
tion  to  the  work,  and,   as  was  reported,  said  some  strong 
things  against  it ;  and  this  led  to  her  being  made  a  particu 
lar  subject  of  prayer.     This  had  come  to  my  knowledge  bui 
a  short  time  before  the  event  occurred,  which  I  am  about  to 
relate.     I  believe,  in  this  case,  some  of  the  principal  women 
made  this  lady  a  particular  subject  of  prayer,  as  she  was  a 
person  of  prominent  influence  MI  the  place.     She  was  an 
educated  lady,  of  great  force  of  character,  and  of  strong  will; 
and  of  course  she  made  her  opposition  felt.     But  almost  as 
soon  as  this  was  known,  and  the  spirit  of  prayer  was  given 
for  her  in  particular,  the  Spirit  of  God  took  her  case  in  hand. 
One  evening,  almost  immediately  after  I  had  heard  of  her 
case,  and  perhaps  the  evening  of  the  very  day  that  the  facts 
came  to  my  knowledge,  after  the  meeting  was  dismissed,  and 
the  people  had  retired,  Mr.  Gillett  and  myself  had  remained 
to  the  very  last,  conversing  with  some  persons   who  wer« 
deeply  bowed  down  with  conviction.     As  they  went  away, 
and  we  were  about  to  retire,  the  sexton  came  hurriedly  t« 
us  as  we  were  going  out,  and  said,   "  There  is  a  lady  in 
yonder  pew  that  cannot  get  out ;  she  is  helpless.     Will  you 
not  come  and  see  t.^r?"     We  returned,  and  lo!  down  in 
the  pew,  was  this  lady  of  whom  I  have  spoken,  perfectly 
overwhelmed  with  conviction.     The  pew  had  been  full,  and 
she  had  attempted  to  retire  with  the  others  that  went  out ; 
but  as  she  was  the  last  to  go  out,  she  found  herself  unable 
to  stand,  and  sunk  down  upon  the  floor,  and  did  so  without 
being  noticed  by  those  that  preceded  her.     We  had  some 
conversation  with  her,  and  found  that  the  Lord  had  stricken 
her  with  unutterable  conviction  of  sin.     After  praying  with 
her,  and  giving  her   the   solemn  charge  to  give  her  heart 
immediately  to  Christ,  I  left  her  ;  and  Mr.  Gillett,  I  believe, 
helped  her  home.     It  was  but  a  few  rods  ^>  her  house.     We 
afterwards  learned,  tiiat  when  she  got  home  she  went  into  a 
chamber  by  herself  and  spent  the  night.     It  was  a  cold  win 
ter's  night.     She  locked  herself  in,  and  spent  the  night  alpne, 


REVIVAL  AT   BOMB.  173 

The  next  day  she  expressed  hope  in  Christ,  and  so  far  as  I 
have  knowii,  proved  to  be  soundly  converted. 

I  think  I  should  mention  also  the  conversion  of  Mrs. 
Gillett,  during  this  revival.  She  was  a  sister  of  the  mission 
ary  Mills,  who  was  one  of  the  young  men  whose  zeal  led  to 
the  organization  of  the  American  Board.  She  was  a  beauti 
ful  woman,  considerably  younger  than  her  husband,  and  his 
second  wife.  She  had  been,  before  Mr.  Gillett  married  her, 
under  conviction  for  several  weeks,  and  had  become  almost 
deranged.  She  had  the  impression,  if  I  recollect  right,  that 
she  was  not  one  of  the  elect,  and  that  there  was  no  salvation 
for  her.  Soon  after  the  revival  began  in  Rome,  she  Tas 
powerfully  convicted  again  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord. 

She  was  a  woman  of  refinement,  and  fond  of  dress  ; 
and  as  is  very  common,  wore  about  her  head  and  upon 
her  person  some  trifling  ornaments ;  nothing,  however, 
that  I  should  have  thought  of  as  being  any  stumbling-block 
in  her  way,  at  all.  Being  her  guest,  I  conversed  repeatedly 
with  her  as  her  convictions  increased  ;  but  it  never  occurred 
to  me  that  her  fondness  for  dress  could  stand  in  the  way 
of  her  being  converted  to  God.  But  as  the  work  became 
so  powerful,  her  distress  became  alarming  ;  and  Mr.  Gillett, 
knowing  what  had  formerly  occurred  in  her  case,  felt  quite 
alarmed  lest  she  should  get  into  that  state  of  despondency,  in 
which  she  had  been  years  before.  She  threw  herself  upon 
me  for  instruction.  Every  time  I  came  into  the  house, 
almost,  she  would  come  to  me  and  beg  me  to  pray  for  her, 
and  tell  me  that  her  distress  was  more  than  she  could  bear. 
She  was  evidently  going  fast  to  despair  ;  but  I  could  see 
that  she  was  depending  too  much  on  me  ;  therefore  I  tried 
x  avoid  her. 

It  went  on  thus,  until  one  day  I  came  into  the  house,  and 
burned  into  the  study.  In  a  few  moments,  as  usual,  she  was 
before  me,  begging  me  to  pray  for  her,  and  complaining  that 
there  was  no  salvation  for  her.  1  got  up  abruptly  and  left 
her,  without  praying  with  her,  and  saying  to  her  that  it  was 


174  HEMOIBS    OP    CHABLES   G. 

of  no  use  for  me  to  pray  for  her,  that  she  was  depending 
npon  my  prayers.  When  I  did  so,  she  sunk  down  as  if  she 
would  faint.  I  left  her  alone,  notwithstanding,  and  went 
abruptly  from  the  study  to  the  parlor.  In  the  course  of  a 
few  moments  she  came  rushing  across  the  hall  into  the  par 
lor,  with  her  face  all  in  a  glow,  exclaiming,  "  0  Mr.  Fin- 
ney  I  I  have  found  the  Saviour  1  I  have  found  the  Saviour  I 
Don't  you  think  that  it  was  the  ornaments  in  my  hair  that 
stood  in  the  w^ay  of  my  conversion  ?  I  have  found  when 
I  prayed  that  they  would  come  up  before  me  ;  and  I  would 
be  tempted,  as  I  supposed,  to  give  them  up.  But,"  said  she, 
"  I  thought  they  were  trifles,  and  that  God  did  not  care 
about  such  trifles.  This  was  a  temptation  of  Satan.  But 
the  ornaments  that  I  wore,  continually  kept  coining  up 
before  my  mind,  whenever  I  attempted  to  give  my  heart  to 
God.  When  you  abruptly  left  me,"  she  said,  "  I  was  driven 
to  desperation.  I  cast  myself  down,  and,  lo  !  these  orna 
ments  came  up  again ;  and  I  said,  I  will  not  have  these 
things  come  up  again,  I  will  put  them  away  from  me  forever." 
Said  she,  "I  renounced  them,  and  hated  them  as  things 
standing  in  the  way  of  my  salvation.  As  soon  as  I  promised 
to  give  them  up,  the  Lord  revealed  himself  to  my  soul ;  and 
0  ! "  said  she,  "  I  wonder  I  have  never  understood  this  before. 
This  was  really  the  great  difficulty  with  me  before,  when  I 
was  under  conyiction,  my  fondness  for  dress  ;  and  I  did  noi 
if  now  it" 


CHAPTER  XFV 

REVIVAL    AT    UTICA,  tfEW    YORK. 

TTT"HEN  I  had  been  at  Rome  about  twenty  days,  one  of 
VV  the  elders  of  Mr.  Aiken's  church  in  Utica,  a  very 
prominent  and  a  very  useful  man,  died ;  and  I  went  down 
to  attend  his  funeral.  Mr.  Aiken  conducted  the  funeral 
exercises  ;  and  I  learned  from  him  that  the  spirit  of  prayer 
was  already  manifest  in  his  congregation,  and  in  that  city. 
He  told  me  that  one  of  his  principal  women  had  been  si 
deeply  exercised  in  her  soul  about  the  state  of  the  church, 
and  of  the  ungodly  in  that  city,  that  she  had  prayed  for  two 
days  and  nights,  almost  incessantly,  until  her  strength  wai 
quite  overcome  ;  that  she  had  literal  travail  of  soul,  to  such 
an  extent  that  when  her  own  strength  was  exhausted,  she 
could  not  endure  the  burden  of  her  mind,  unless  somebody 
was  engaged  in  prayer  with  her,  upon  whose  prayer  she  could 
lean — some  one  who  could  express  her  desires  to  God. 

I  understood  this,  and  told  Mr.  Aiken  that  the  work  had 
already  begun  in  her  heart.  He  recognized  it,  of  course  ; 
and  wished  me  to  commence  labor  with  him  and  his  people 
immediately.  I  soon  did  so,  and,  be  sure,  the  work  began 
at  once.  The  word  took  immediate  effect,  and  the  place  be 
came  filled  with  the  manifested  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
Our  meetings  were  crowded  every  night,  and  the  work  spread 
and  went  on  powerfully,  especially  in  the  two  Presbyterian 
congregations  ;  of  one  of  which  Mr.  Aiken  was  pastor,  and 
Mr.  Brace  of  the  other.  I  divided  my  labors  between  the 
two  congregations. 

Soon  after  I  commenced  in  Utica,  I  observed  to  Mr. 
Aiken,  that  Mr.  B ,  the  sheriff  of  whom  T  have  made 


176  HBMOIBS   OP  CHARLES  G.    PINNBT. 

mention,  did  not  attend  the  meetings,  as  I  saw.  But  a  few 
evenings  afterward,  jnst  as  I  was  about  to  begin  to  preach, 

Mr.  Aiken  whispered  to  me  that  Mr.  B had  come  in. 

He  pointed  him  out  to  me,  as  he  made  his  way  up  the  aisle 
to  his  seat.  I  took  my  text,  and  proceeded  to  address  the 
congregation.  I  had  spoken  but  a  few  moments,  when  1 

observed  Mr    B rise  up  in  the  slip,  turn  deliberately 

around,  wraj  his  great  coat  about  him,  and  kneel  down.  I 
observed  that  it  excited  the  attention  of  those  that  sat  near, 
who  knew  him,  and  produced  a  considerable  sensation  in 
that  part  of  the  house.  The  sheriff  continued  on  his  knees 
during  the  whole  service.  He  then  retired  to  his  room  at 
the  hotel  in  which  he  boarded.  He  was  a  man,  perhaps  fifty 
fears  old,  and  unmarried. 

He  afterwards  told  me  that  his  mind  was  greatly  burdened 
when  he  went  home,  and  brought  up  the  subject  to  which 
he  had  been  listening.  I  had  pressed  the  congregation  to 
accept  Christ,  just  as  he  was  presented  in  the  Gospel.  The 
question  of  the  present  acceptance  of  Christ,  and  the  whole 
situation  in  regard  to  the  sinner's  relation  to  him,  and  his 
relation  to  the  sinner,  had  been  the  subject  of  discourse. 
He  said  that  he  had  treasured  up  in  his  mind  the  points  that 
had  been  made,  and  that  he  presented  them  solemnly  before 
himself,  and  said,  "  My  soul,  will  you  consent  to  this  ?  Will 
you  accept  of  Christ,  and  give  up  sin,  and  give  up  yourself  : 
And  will  you  do  it  now  ?  "  He  said  he  had  thrown  himself, 
in  the  agony  of  his  mind,  upon  his  bed.  He  made  this 
point  with  himself,  and  conjured  his  soul,  to  accept  "now, 
and  here."  Eight  there,  he  said,  his  distress  left  him  so 
suddenly  that  he  fell  asleep,  and  did  not  wake  f i  r  several 
hours.  When  he  did  awake,  he  found  his  mind  full  of  peace 
and  rest  in  Christ ;  and  from  this  moment  he  became  an 
earnest  worker  for  Christ  among  his  acquaintances. 

The  hotel  at  which  he  boarded  was  at  that  time  kept  b^ 

a  Mr.  S ,     The  Spirit  took  powerful  hold  in  that  house. 

himself  was  soon  made  a  subject  of  prayer,  anf 


REVIVAL  AT  UTIOA,  177 

^«came  converted  ;  and  a  large  number  of  his  family  anl  of 
his  boarders.  Indeed  that  largest  hotel  in  the  town  became 
a  centre  of  spiritual  influence,  and  many  were  converted 
there.  The  stages,  as  they  passed  through,  stopped  at  the 
hotel ;  and  so  powerful  was  the  impression  in  the  community, 
that  I  heard  of  several  cases  of  persons  that  just  stopped  foi 
a  meal,  or  to  spend  a  night,  being  powerfully  convicted  and 
converted  before  they  left  the  town.  Indeed,  both  in  this 
place  and  in  Rome,  it  was  a  common  remark  that  nobody 
could  be  in  the  town,  or  pass  through  it,  without  being  aware 
of  the  presence  of  God  ;  that  a  divine  influence  seemed  to 
pervade  the  place,  and  the  whole  atmosphere  to  be  instinct 
with  a  divine  life. 

A  merchant  from  Lowville  came  to  Utica,  to  do  some 
business  in  his  line.     He  stopped  at  the  hotel  where  Mr. 

B boarded.     He  found  the  whole  conversation  in  the 

town  was  such  as  greatly  to  annoy  him,  for  he  was  an  un 
converted  man.  He  was  vexed,  and  said  he  could  do  no 
business  there  ;  it  was  all  religion  ;  and  he  resolved  to  go 
home.  He  could  not  go  into  a  store,  but  religion  was  in- 
traded  upon  him,  and  he  could  do  no  business  with  them. 
That  evening  he  would  go  home. 

These  remarks  had  been  made  in  the  presence  of  some  of 
the  young  converts  who  boarded  at  the  hotel,  and  I  think 

especially  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  B .     As  the  stage  was 

expected  to  leave  late  at  night,  he  was  observed  to  go  to  the 
bar,  just  before  he  retired,  to  pay  his  bill ;  saying  that  Mr. 

S would   not  probably  be  up  when   the  stage  passed 

through,  and  he  wished  therefore  to  settle  his  bill  before  he 

retired.  Mr.  S said  that  he  observed,  while  he  was  settling 

his  bill,  that  his  mind  was  very  much  exercised,  and  he  sug 
gested  to  several  of  the  gentleman  boarders  that  they  should 
make  him  a  subject  of  prayer.  They  took  him,  I  believe, 

to  Mr.  B- 's  room,  and  conversed  with  him,  and  prayed 

with  him  and  before  the  stage  came,  he  was  a  converted 
man.     And  so  concerned  did  he  feel  immediately  about  tbf 
8* 


i?fr  MEMOIRS   OF    CHARLES   Q.    FINNEY. 

people  of  his  own  place,  that  when  the  stage  came  he  took 
passage,  and  went  immediately  home.  As  soon  as  he  arrived 
at  home,  he  told  his  family  his  experience,  and  called  them 
together  and  prayed  with  them.  As  he  was  a  very  prom 
inent  citizen,  and  very  outspoken,  and  everywhere  proclaim 
ing  what  the  Lord  had  done  for  his  soul,  it  immediately 
produced  a  very  solemn  impression  in  Lowville,  and  soon 
resulted  in  a  great  revival  in  that  place. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  the  revival  in  Utica,  that  we  first 
heard  of  the  opposition  to  those  revivals,  that  was  springing 
up  in  the  East.  Mr.  Nettleton  wrote  some  letters  to  Mr. 
Aiken,  with  whom  I  was  laboring  ;  in  which  it  was  mani 
fest  that  he  was  very  much  mistaken  with  regard  to  the 
character  of  those  revivals.  Mr.  Aiken  showed  me  those 
letters  ;  and  they  were  handed  around  among  the  ministers 
in  the  neighborhood,  as  they  were  intended  to  be.  Among 
them  was  one  in  which  Mr.  Nettleton  stated  fully  what  he 
regarded  as  objectionable  in  the  conduct  of  these  revivals  ; 
but  as  no  such  things  as  he  complained  of  were  done  in 
those  revivals,  or  had  been  known  at  all,  we  took  no  other 
notice  of  the  letters  than  to  read  them,  and  let  them  pass. 
Mr.  Aiken,  however,  replied  privately  to  one  or  two  of 
them,  assuring  Mr.  Nettleton  that  no  such  things  were 
done.  I  do  not  recollect  now  whether  Mr.  Nettletoc  com 
plained  of  the  fact,  that  women  would  sometimes  pray  in 
the  social  meetings.  It  was  true,  however,  that  in  a  few 
instances  women, — and  some  very  prominent  women,  who 
were  strongly  pressed  in  spirit, — would  lead  in  prayer,  in  the 
social  meetings  which  we  held  daily  from  house  to  house. 
No  opposition,  that  I  know  of,  was  manifested  to  this,  eithei 
at  Utica  or  at  Rome.  I  had  no  agency  in  introducing  the 
practice  among  the  people,  and  do  not  know  whether  it  had 
existed  there  before  or  not.  Indeed  it  was  not  a  subject  oj 
much  conversation  or  thought,  so  far  as  I  know,  in  the 
neighborhood  where  it  occurred. 

I  have  alreadv  said  that  Mr.  Weeks,  who  maintained  th* 


REVIVAL   AT   UTICA.  171 

most  offensive  doctrines  on  the  subject  of  divine  efficiency, 
was  known  to  be  opposed  to  those  revivals.  For  the  infor 
mation  of  those  who  may  not  know  that  any  such  doctrines 
were  ever  held,  I  would  say,  that  Mr.  Weeks,  and  those  that 
agreed  with  him,  held  that  both  sin  and  holiness  were  pro 
duced  in  the  mind  by  a  direct  act  of  almighty  power ;  that 
God  made  men  sinners  or  holy,  at  his  sovereign  discretion, 
but  in  both  cases  by  a  direct  act  of  almighty  power,  an  act 
as  irresistible  as  that  of  creation  itself  ;  that  in  fact  God  was 
the  only  proper  agent  in  the  universe,  and  that  all  creatures 
acted  only  as  they  were  moved  and  compelled  to  act,  by  his 
irresistible  power ;  that  every  sin  in  the  universe,  both  of 
men  and  of  devils,  was  the  result  of  a  direct,  irresistible  act 
on  the  part  of  God.  This  they  attempted  to  prove  from 
the  Bible. 

Mr.  Weeks'  idea  of  conversion,  or  regeneration,  was  that 
God,  who  had  made  men  sinners,  brought  them  also,  in 
regenerating  them,  to  admit  that  he  had  a  right  to  make 
them  sinners,  for  his  glory,  and  to  send  them  to  hell  for  the 
ains  which  he  had  directly  created  in  them,  or  compelled 
them  to  commit,  by  the  force  of  omnipotence.  In  conversions 
that  did  not  bring  sinners  to  accept  this  view  of  the  sub 
ject,  he  had  no  confidence.  Those  that  have  read  Mr.  Weeks'* 
nine  sermons  on  the  subject,  will  see  that  I  have  not  misrepre 
sented  his  views.  And  as  this  view  of  Mr.  Weeks  was  em 
braced,  to  a  considerable  extent,  by  ministers  and  professors 
of  religion  in  that  region,  his  known  opposition,  together 
with  that  of  some  other  ministers,  greatly  emboldened  and 
increased  the  opposition  of  others. 

The  work,  however,  went  on  with  great  power,  converting 
all  classes,  until  Mr.  Aiken  reported  the  hopeful  conversion 
of  five  hundred,  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks,  most  of  them. 
I  believe,  belonging  to  his  own  congregation.  Revivals 
were  comparatively  a  new  thing  in  that  region ;  and  the 
great  mass  of  the  people  had  not  become  convinced  thai 
they  were  the  work  of  God.  They  were  not  awed  by  them, 


180  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G.    FOOTS*. 

as  they  afterwards  became.  It  seemed  to  be  extensively  tht 
impression  that  those  revivals  would  soon  pass  away,  and 
would  pro?e  to  have  been  but  a  mere  excitement  of  animal 
feeling.  I  do  not  mean  that  those  that  were  interested  in 
the  work  had  any  such  idea. 

One  circumstance  occurred,  in  the  midst  of  that  revival, 
that  made  a  powerful  impression.  The  Oneida  presbytery 
met  there,  while  the  revival  was  going  on  in  its  full  strength. 
Among  others  there  was  an  aged  clergyman,  a  stranger  to  me, 
who  was  very  much  annoyed  by  the  heat  and  fervor  of  th« 
revival.  He  found  the  public  mind  all  absorbed  on  the  sub 
ject  of  religion  ;  that  there  was  prayer  and  religious  conver 
sation  everywhere,  even  in  the  stores  and  other  public  places 
He  had  never  seen  a  revival,  and  had  never  heard  what  he 
heard  there.  He  was  a  Scotchman,  and,  I  believe,  had  not 
been  very  long  in  this  country. 

On  Friday  afternoon,  before  presbytery  adjourned,  he 
arose  and  made  a  violent  speech  against  the  revival,  as  it 
was  going  on.  What  he  said,  greatly  shocked  and  grieved 
the  Christian  people  who  were  present  They  felt  like  fall 
ing  on  their  faces  before  God,  and  crying  to  him  to  prevent 
what  he  had  said  from  doing  any  mischief. 

The  presbytery  adjourned  just  at  evening.  Some  of  the 
members  went  home,  and  others  remained  over  night 
Christians  gave  themselves  to  prayer.  There  was  a  great 
crying  to  God  that  night,  that  he  would  counteract  any  evil 
influence  that  might  result  from  that  speech.  The  next 
morning,  this  man  was  found  dead  in  his  bed. 

In  the  course  of  these  revivals,  persons  from  a  distance, 
in  almost  every  direction,  hearing  what  the  Lord  was  doing, 
or  being  attracted  by  curiosity  and  wonder  at  what  they 
heard,  came  to  see  for  themselves  ;  and  many  of  them  were 
converted  to  Christ.  Among  these  visitors,  Dr.  Garnet  Juddy 
who  soon  after  went  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  as  a  missionary, 
and  has  been  well-known  to  lovers  of  missions  for  mam 
years,  was  one.  He  belonged  to  the  congregation  of  Mr. 


REVIVAL  AT   UTIOA.  183 

Weeks,  to  whom  I  have  referred.  His  father,  old  Dr.  Jndd, 
was  an  earnest  Christian  man.  He  came  down  to  Utica  and 
sympathized  greatly  with  the  revival. 

About  the  same  time  a  young  woman,  Miss  P T — —, 

from  some  part  of  New  England,  came  to  Utica  under  the 
following  circumstances  :  she  was  teaching  a  high  school,  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Newburgh,  New  York.  As  much  was 
said  in  the  newspapers  about  the  revival  in  Utica,  Miss 
T ,  among  others,  became  filled  with  wonder  and  aston 
ishment,  and  with  a  desire  to  go  and  see  for  herself  what  it 
meant.  She  dismissed  her  school  for  ten  days,  and  took  the 
stage  for  Utica.  As  she  passed  through  Genesee  street  to 

the  hotel,  she  observed  on  one  of  the  signs,  the  name  of  B 

T .     She  was  an  entire  stranger  in  Utica,  and  did  not 

know  that  she  had  an  acquaintance  or  relative  there.  But 
after  stopping  a  day  or  two  at  her  hotel,  and  inquiring  who 

B T was,  she  dropped  him  a  note,  saying  that  the 

daughter   of  a  Mr.  T ,  naming  her  father,  was  at  the 

hotel,  and  would  be  pleased  to  see  him.     Mr.  T waited 

upon  her  and  found  that  she  was  a  distant  relative  of  his, 
and  invited  her  immediately  to  his  house.  She  accepted  hi? 
invitation,  and  he  being  an  earnest  Christian  man,  imme 
diately  took  her  to  all  the  meetings,  and  tried  to  interest  her 
m  religion.  She  was  greatly  surprised  at  all  that  she  saw 
and  a  good  deal  annoyed. 

She  was  an  energetic,  highly  cultivated,  and  proud 
young  lady ;  and  the  manner  in  w'hich  people  conversed 
with  her,  and  pressed  upon  her  the  necessity  of  immediately 
giving  her  heart  to  God,  very  much  disturbed  her.  The 
preaching  which  she  heard,  from  night  to  night,  took  a  deep 
hold  upon  her.  The  guilt  of  sinners  was  largely  insisted 
upon  ;  and  their  desert  and  danger  of  eternal  damnation, 
were  made  prominent  in  what  she  heard.  This  aroused  her 
opposition  ;  but  still  the  work  of  conviction  went  powerfully 
on  in  her  heart. 

In  the  meantime  I  had  not  seen  her,  to  converse  with 


182  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G. 

her ;  but  had  heard  from  Mr.  T of  her  state  of  mind. 

After  writhing  under  the  truth  for  a  few  days,  she  called  a4 
my  lodging.  She  sat  down  upon  the  sofa  in  the  parlor.  I 
drew  up  my  chair  in  front  of  her,  and  began  to  press  her 
with  the  claims  of  God.  She  referred  to  my  preaching  that 
sinners  deserved  to  be  sent  to  an  eternal  hell ;  and  said  that 
she  could  not  receive  it,  that  she  did  not  believe  that  God 
was  such  a  being.  I  replied,  "  Nor  do  you  yet  understand 
what  sin  is,  in  its  true  nature  and  ill  desert ;  if  you  did,  you 
would  not  complain  of  God  for  sending  the  sinner  to  an 
etenial  hell."  I  then  spread  out  that  subject  before  her  in 
conversation,  as  plainly  as  I  could.  Much  as  she  hated  to 
believe  it,  still  the  conviction  of  its  truth  was  becoming 
irresistible.  I  conversed  in  this  strain  for  some  time,  until 
I  saw  that  she  was  ready  to  sink  under  the  ripened  convic 
tion  ;  and  then  I  turned  and  said  a  few  words  about  the 
place  which  Jesus  holds,  and  what  is  the  real  situation  of 
things,  in  regard  to  the  salvation  of  those  who  thus  deserved 
to  be  damned. 

Her  countenance  waxed  pale,  in  a  moment  after  she 
threw  up  her  hands  and  shrieked,  and  then  fell  forward 
upon  the  arm  of  the  sofa,  and  let  her  heart  break.  I  think 
she  had  not  wept  at  all  before.  Her  eyes  were  dry,  her 
countenance  haggard  and  pale,  her  sensibility  all  locked  up  : 
but  now  the  flood-gates  were  opened,  she  let  her  whole  gush 
ing  heart  out  before  God.  I  had  no  occasion  to  say  any 
more  to  her.  She  soon  arose  and  went  to  her  own  lodgings. 
She  almost  immediately  gave  up  her  school,  offered  herself 
as  a  foreign  missionary,  was  married  to  a  Mr.  Gulick,  and 
went  out  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  I  think,  at  the  same  time 
that  Dr.  Judd  went  out.  Her  history,  as  a  missionary,  \e 
well  known.  She  has  been  a  very  efficient  missionary,  and 
has  raised  several  sons,  who  also  are  missionaries. 

While  making  my  home  in  Utica,  I  preached  frequently 
in  New  Hartford,  a  village  four  miles  south  of  Utica.  There 
rfras  a  precious  and  powerful  work  of  grace,  a  Mr.  Coe 


REVIVAL    AT    UT1CA.  183 

at  the  time  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  I  preached 
also  at  Whitesboro',  another  beautiful  village,  four  miles 
west  of  Utica;  where  also  was  a  powerful  revival.  The 
pastor,  Mr.  John  Frost,  was  a  most  efficient  laborer  in  the 
work. 

A  circumstance  occurred  in  this  neighborhood,  which  1 
must  not  fail  to  notice.  There  was  a  cotton  manufactory  on 
the  Oriskany  creek,  a  little  above  Whitesboro',  a  place  now 

called  New  York  Mills.  It  was  owned  by  a  Mr.  W ,  an 

unconverted  man,  but  a  gentleman  of  high  standing  and 

good  morals.  My  brother-in-law,  Mr.  G A ,  was  at 

;hat  time  superintendent  of  the  factory.  I  was  invited  to 
go  and  preach  at  that  place,  and  went  up  one  evening, 
and  preached  in  the  village  sckool-house,  which  was  large, 
and  was  crowded  with  hearers.  The  word,  I  could  see, 
took  powerful  effect  among  the  people,  especirUy  among 
the  young  people  who  were  at  work  in  the  factory. 

The  next  morning,  after  breakfast,  I  went  into  the  fac 
tory,  to  look  through  it.  As  I  went  through,  I  observed 
there  was  a  good  deal  of  agitation  among  those  who  were 
ousy  at  their  looms,  and  their  mules,  and  other  implements 
of  work.  On  passing  through  one  of  the  apartments,  where 
a  great  number  of  young  women  were  attending  tc  their 
weaving,  I  observed  a  couple  of  them  eyeing  me,  and  speak 
ing  very  earnestly  to  each  other  ;  and  I  could  see  that  they 
were  a  good  deal  agitated,  although  they  both  laughed.  I 
went  slowly  toward  them.  They  saw  me  coming,  and  were 
evidently  much  excited.  One  of  them  was  trying  to  mend 
a  broken  thread,  and  I  observed  that  her  hands  trembled  so 
that  she  could  not  mend  it.  I  approached  slowly,  looking 
on  each  side  at  the  machinery,  as  I  passed ;  but  observed 
that  this  girl  grew  more  and  more  agitated,  and  could  not 
proceed  with  her  work.  When  I  came  within  eight  or  ten 
feet  of  her,  I  looked  solemnly  at  her.  She  observed  it,  and 
was  quite  overcome,  and  sunk  down,  and  burst  into  tears. 
The  impression  caught  almost  like  powder,  and  in  a  fev 


184  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G.    PM5TKB1. 

moments  nearly  all  in  the  room  were  in  tears.     This  feeling 

spread  through  the  factory.     Mr.  W ,  the  owner  of  the 

establishment,  was  present,  and  seeing  the  state  of  things,  he 
said  to  the  superintendent,  "  Stop  the  mill,  and  let  the  peo 
pie  attend  to  religion ;  for  it  is  more  important  that  OUT 
souls  should  be  saved  than  that  this  factory  run."  The  gate 
was  immediately  shut  down,  and  the  factory  stopped  ;  but 
where  should  we  assemble  ?  The  superintendent  suggested 
that  the  mule  room  was  large  ;  and,  the  mules  being  run  up, 
we  could  assemble  there.  We  did  so,  and  a  more  powerful 
meeting  I  scarcely  ever  attended.  It  went  on  with  great 
power.  The  building  was  large,  and  had  many  people  in  it, 
from  the  garret  to  the  cellar.  The  revival  went  through 
the  mill  with  astonishing  power,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few 
days  nearly  all  in  the  mill  were  hopefully  converted. 

As  much  has  been  said  about  the  hopeful  conversion  of 
Theodore  D.  Weld,  at  Utica,  it  may  be  well  for  me  to  give 

a  correct  report  of  the  facts.     He  had  an  aunt,  Mrs.  C , 

lining  in  Utica,  who  was  a  very  praying,  godly  woman.  He 
\*AS  the  don  of  an  eminent  clergyman  in  New  England,  and 
his  aunt  thought  he  was  a  Christian.  He  used  to  lead  her 
family  in  its  worship.  Before  the  commencement  of  the 
revival,  he  had  become  a  member  of  Hamilton  College,  at 
Clinton.  The  work  at  Utica  had  attracted  so  much  atten 
tion,  that  many  persons  from  Clinton,  and  among  the  rest 
some  of  the  professors  of  the  college,  had  been  down  to 
Utica,  and  had  reported  what  was  doing  there,  and  a  good 
dea!  of  excitement  had  resulted.  Weld  held  a  very  promi 
nent  place  among  the  students  of  Hamilton  College,  and 
had  a  very  great  influence.  Hearing  what  was  going  on  at 
Utica,  he  became  very  much  excited,  and  his  opposition  was 
greatly  aroused.  He  became  quite  outrageous  in  his  expres 
sions  of  opposition  to  the  work,  as  I  understood. 

This  fact  became  known  in  Utica ;  and  his  aunt,  with 
whom  he  had  boarded,  became  very  anxious  about  him.  To 
me  he  was  an  entire  stranger.  His  aunt  wrote  him,  and 


fiKVIVAL    AT   UTICA.  186 

asked  him  to  come  home  anil  spend  a  Sabbath,  hear  the 
preaching,  and  become  interested  in  the  work.  He  at  first 
declined,  but  finally  got  some  of  the  students  together,  and 
told  them  that  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  go  down  to 
Utica  ;  that  he  knew  it  must  be  fanaticism  01  enthusiasm ; 
that  he  knew  it  would  not  move  him,  they  would  see  that  it 
would  not  He  came  full  of  opposition,  and  his  aunt  soon 
learned  that  he  did  not  intend  to  hear  me  preach.  Mr 
Aiken  had  usually  occupied  the  pulpit  in  the  morning,  and 
I,  in  the  afternoon  and  evening.  His  aunt  learned  that  he 
intended  to  go  to  Mr.  Aiken's  church  in  the  morning,  when 
he  expected  Mr.  Aiken  to  preaco  ;  but  that  he  would  not  go 
in  the  afternoon  01  evening,  bee  ,.Ase  he  was  determined  not 
to  hear  me. 

In  view  of  this,  Mr.  Aiken  suggested  that  I  should  preach 
in  the  morning.  I  consented,  and  we  went  to  meeting.  Mr. 

Aiken  took  the  introductory  exercises,  as  usual.  Mrs.  C 

came  to  meeting  with  her  family,  and  among  them  Mr.  Weld. 
She  took  pains  to  have  him  so  seated  in  the  slip  that  he  could 
not  well  get  out,  without  herself,  and  one  or  two  other  mem 
bers  of  the  family,  stepping  out  before  him  ;  for  she  feared, 
as  she  said,  that  he  would  go  out  when  he  saw  that  I  was 
going  to  preach.  I  knew  that  his  influence  among  the  young 
men  of  Utica  was  very  great,  and  that  his  coming  there 
would  have  a  powerful  influence  to  make  them  band  together 
in  opposition  to  the  work.  Mr.  Aiken  pointed  him  out  to 
me,  as  he  came  in  and  took  his  seat. 

After  the  introductory  exercises,  I  arose  and  named  this 
text:  "One  sinner  destroyeth  much  good."  I  had  never 
preached  from  it,  or  heard  it  preached  from ;  but  it  came 
home  with  great  power  to  my  mind,  and  this  fact  decided 
the  selection  of  the  text.  I  began  to  preach,  and  to  show  in 
a  great  many  instances,  how  one  sinner  might  destroy  much 
good,  and  how  the  influence  of  one  man  might  destroy  a  great 
many  souls.  I  suppose  that  I  drew  a  pretty  vivid  picture 
of  Weld,  and  of  what  his  influence  was,  and  what  mischief 


MEMOIRS   OF  CHARLES   G.    PIXNEY. 

he  might  do.  Once  or  twice  he  made  an  effort  to  get  out , 
but  his  aunt  perceiving  it,  would  throw  herself  forward,  and 
lean  on  the  slip  in  front,  and  engage  in  silent  prayer,  and 
be  could  not  get  out  without  arousing  and  annoying  her , 
and  therefore  he  remained  in  his  seat  till  meeting  was  out. 

The  next  day  I  called  at  a  store  in  Genesee  street,  to 
3ot« verse  with  some  people  there,  as  it  was  my  custom  to  go 
from  place  to  place  for  conversation  ;  and  whom  should  I 
find  there  but  Weld  ?  He  fell  upon  me  very  unceremoni 
ously,  and  I  should  think,  for  nearly  or  quite  an  hour, 
talked  to  me  in  a  most  abusive  manner.  I  had  never  heard 
anything  like  it.  I  got  an  opportunity  to  say  but  very  little 
to  him  myself,  for  his  tongue  ran  incessantly.  He  was  very 
gifted  in  language.  It  soon  attracted  the  attention  of  all 
that  were  in  the  store,  and  the  news  ran  along  the  streets, 
and  the  clerks  gathered  in  from  the  neighboring  stores,  and 
stood  to  hear  what  he  had  to  say.  All  business  cease,'1  in  the 
store,  and  all  gave  themselves  up  to  listening  to  his  vitupera 
tion.  But  finally  I  appealed  to  him  and  said,  "  Mr.  Weld, 
are  you  the  son  of  a  minister  of  Christ,  ard  is  this  the  way 
for  you  t©  behave  ? "  I  said  a  few  words  in  that  direction, 
and  I  saw  that  it  stung  him  ;  and  throwing  out  something 
very  severe,  he  immediately  left  the  store. 

I  went  out  also,  and  returned  to  Mr.  Aiken's,  where  for 
the  time  I  was  lodging.  I  had  been  there  but  a  few 
moments  when  somebody  called  at  the  door,  and  as  no  ser 
vant  was  at  hand  I  went  to  the  door  myself.  And  whc 
should  come  in  but  Mr.  Weld  ?  He  looked  as  if  he  would 
sink.  He  began  immediately  to  make  the  most  humble 
confession  and  apology  for  the  manner  in  which  he  had 
treated  me  ;  and  expressed  himself  in  the  strongest  terms  of 
self-condemnation.  I  took  him  kindly  by  the  hand  and 
had  a  little  conversation  with  him,  assured  him  that  I  had 
laid  up  nothing  against  him,  and  exhorted  him  earnestly,  to 
give  his  heart  to  God.  I  believe  I  prayed  with  him  before 
h*  went.  He  left,  and  I  heard  no  more  of  him  that  day. 


REVIVAL    AT    UTICA.  187 

That  evening  1  preached,  I  think,  at  New  Hartford,  and 
returned  late  in  the  evening.  The  next  morning  I  heard 
that  he  went  to  his  aunt's,  greatly  impressed  and  subdwied. 
She  asked  him  to  pray  in  the  family.  He  said  that  he  was 
at  first  shocked  at  the  idea.  But  his  enmity  arose  so  much, 
that  he  thought  that  that  was  one  way  in  which  he  had  not 
yet  expressed  his  opposition,  and  therefore  he  would  comply 
with  her  request.  He  knelt  down,  and  began  and  went  or 
with  what  his  aunt  intended  should  be  a  prayer  ;  but  from 
his  own  account  of  it,  it  was  the  most  blasphemous  strain  of 
vituperation  that  could  well  be  uttered.  He  kept  on  in  a 
most  wonderful  way,  until  they  all  became  convulsed  with 
feeling  and  astonishment ;  and  he  kept  on  so  long,  that  the 
light  went  out  before  he  closed.  His  aunt  attempted  to 
converse  with  him,  and  to  pray  with  him ;  but  the  opposi 
tion  of  his  heart  was  terrible.  She  became  frightened  at 
the  state  of  mind  which  he  manifested.  After  praying 
with  him,  and  entreating  him  to  give  his  heart  to  God,  she 
retired. 

He  went  to  his  room  ;  and  walked  his  room  by  turns,  and 
by  turns  he  lay  upon  the  floor.  He  continued  the  whole 
night  in  that  terrible  state  of  mind,  angry,  rebellious*  and 
yet  so  convicted  that  he  could  scarcely  live.  Just  »  lay- 
light,  while  walking  back  and  forth  in  his  room,  he  said,  a 
pressure  came  upon  him  that  crushed  him  down  to  the  floor  • 
and  with  it  came  a  voice  that  seemed  to  command  him  to 
repent,  to  repent  now.  He  said  it  broke  him  down  to  the 
floor,  and  there  he  lay,  until,  late  in  the  morning,  his  aunt 
coming  up,  found  him  upon  the  floor  calling  himself  a  thou 
sand  fools  ;  and  to  all  human  appearance,  with  his  heart  all 
broken  to  pieces. 

The  next  night  he  rose  in  meeting,  and  asked  If  he  might 
make  confession.  I  answered,  yes ;  and  he  made  public 
confession  before  the  whole  congregation.  He  said  it  be 
came  him  to  remove  the  stumbling-block  which  he  had  cast 
before  the  whole  people ;  and  he  wanted  opportunitv  t< 


MEMOIRS   OF   CHAKLSS   G. 

make  the  most  public  confession  he  could.  He  did  make  a 
very  humble,  earnest,  broken-hearted  confession. 

From  that  time  he  became  a  very  efficient  helper  in  the 
work.  He  labored  diligently  ;  and  being  a  powerful  speaker, 
and  much-gifted  in  prayer  and  labor,  he  was  instrumental, 
for  several  years,  in  doing  a  great  deal  of  good,  and  in  the 
hopeful  conversion  of  a  great  many  souls.  At  length  his 
~ealth  became  enfeebled  by  his  great  labor.  He  was  obliged 
to  leave  college,  and  he  went  on  a  fishing-excursion  to  the 
coast  of  Labrador.  He  returned,  the  same  earnest  laborer 
as  before  he  went  away,  with  health  renewed.  I  found  him, 
for  a .  considerable  time,  an  efficient  helper,  where  I  was 
attempting  to  labor. 

I  have  said  that  no  public  replies?  were  made  to  the  things 
that  found  their  way  into  print,  in  opposition  to  these  revi 
vals  ;  that  is,  to  nothing  that  was  written  by  Dr.  Beech  er  or 
Mr.  Nettleton.  I  have  also  said,  that  a  pamphlet  was  pub 
lished  by  the  ministers  that  composed  the  Oneida  Associa 
tion,  in  oppoer':on  to  the  work.  To  this,  I  believe,  no  pub 
lic  answer  was  given.  I  recollect  that  a  Unitarian  minister, 
residing  at  Trenton,  in  that  county,  published  an  abusive 
pamphlet,  in  which  he  greatly  misrepresented  the  work,  and 
made  a  personal  attack  upon  myself.  To  this  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Wetmore,  one  of  the  members  of  the  Oneida  Presbytery, 
published  a  reply. 

This  revival  occurred  in  the  winter  and  spring  of  1826. 
When  the  converts  had  been  received  into  the  churches 
throughout  the  county,  Rev.  John  Frost,  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  at  Whitesboro',  published  a  pamphlet 
giving  some  account  of  the  revival,  and  stated,  if  1  remem 
ber  right,  that  within  the  bounds  of  that  presbytery,  the 
converts  numbered  three  thousand.  I  have  no « copy  of 
any  of  these  pamphlets.  I  have  said  that  the  work  spread 
from  Rome  and  Utica,  as  from  a  centre,  in  every  direction. 
Ministers  came  from  a  considerable  distance,  and  spent  more 
*>r  less  time  in  attending  the  meetings,  and  in  various  wave 


BJBVIYJLL  AT   CTICA.  1S9 

helping  forward  the  work.  I  spread  my  own  labors  over  as 
large  a  field  as  I  could,  and  labored  more  or  less  throughout 
the  bounds  of  the  presbytery.  I  cannot  now  remember  all  the 
places  where  I  spent  more  or  less  time.  The  pastors 
of  all  those  churches  sympathized  deeply  with  the  work , 
and  like  good  and  true  men,  laid  themselves  upon  the  altar, 
and  did  all  they  could  to  forward  the  great  and  gloriom 
movement ;  and  Gk>d  gave  them  a  rich  reward. 

The  doctrines  preached  in  these  revivals  were  the  same 
that  have  been  already  presented  Instead  of  telling  sinners 
to  use  the  means  of  grace  and  pray  f  Oi  a  new  ne-art,  we  called 
on  them  to  make  themselves  a  new  heart  and  «*  new  spirit, 
and  pressed  the  duty  of  instant  surrender  to  8oi.  We  w>i" 
them  the  Spirit  was  striving  with  them  to  induce  them  now 
to  give  him  their  hearts,  now  to  believe,  and  to  enter  at  once 
upon  a  life  of  devotion  to  Christ,  of  faith,  and  love,  and 
Christian  obedience.  We  taught  them  that  while  they  were 
praying  for  the  Holy  Spirit,  they  were  constantly  resisting 
him  ;  and  that  if  they  would  at  once  yield  to  their  own 
convictions  of  duty,  they  would  be  Christians.  We  tried  to 
show  them  that  everything  they  did  or  said  before  they  had 
submitted,  believed,  given  their  hearts  to  God,  was  all  sin ; 
was  not  that  which  God  requireo  them  to  do,  but  was  simply 
deferring  repentance  and  resisting  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Such  teaching  as  this  was  oi  Bourse  opposed  by  many  , 
nevertheless  it  was  greatly  blessed  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 
Formerly  it  had  been  supposed  necessary  that  a  sinner  should 
remain  under  conviction  a  long  time  ;  and  it  was  not  un 
common  to  hear  old  professors  of  religion,  say  that  they  were 
under  conviction  many  months,  or  years,  before  they  found  re 
lief  ;  and  they  evidently  had  the  impression  that  the  longer 
they  were  under  conviction,  the  greater  was  the  evidence  that 
they  were  truly  converted  We  taught  the  opposite  of  this. 
I  insisted  that  if  they  remained  long  under  conviction,  they 
were  in  danger  of  becoming  self-righteous,  in  the  sense  that 
they  would  think  that  they  had  prayed  a  great  deal,  and 


L90  ilEMOIHS    OF    CHARLES    G. 

done  a  great  deal  to  persuade  God  to  save  them ;  and  that 
finally  they  would  settle  down  with  a  false  hope.  We  told 
them  that  under  this  protracted  conviction,  they  were  in 
ianger  of  grieving  the  Spirit  of  God  away,  and  when  their 
distress  of  mind  ceased,  a  reaction  would  naturally  take 
place  ;  they  would  feel  less  distress,  and  perhaps  obtain  a  de 
gree  of  comfort,  from  which  they  were  in  danger  of  inferring 
that  tney  were  converted ;  that  the  bare  thought  that  they 
were  possibly  converted,  might  create  a  degree  of  joy,  which 
they  might  mistake  for  Christian  joy  and  peace ;  and  that 
this  state  of  mind  might  still  farther  delude  them,  by  being 
taken  as  evidence  that  they  were  converted. 

We  tried  thoroughly  to  dispose  of  this  false  teaching. 
We  insisted  then,  as  I  have  ever  done  since,  on  immediate 
submission,  as  the  only  thing  that  God  could  accept  at  their 
hands  ;  and  that  all  delay,  under  any  pretext  whatever,  was 
^bellion  against  God.  It  became  very  common  under  this 
Caching,  for  persons  to  be  convicted  and  converted,  in  the 
course  of  a  few  hours,  and  sometimes  in  the  course  of  a  few 
minutes.  Such  sadden  conversions  were  alaiming  to  many 
good  people  ;  and  of  course  they  predicted  that  the  converts 
would  fall  away,  and  prove  not  to  be  soundly  converted.  Bui 
the  event  proved,  that  among  those  sudden  conversions,  were 
some  of  the  most  influential  Christians  that  ever  have  been 
known  in  that  region  of  country  ;  and  this  has  been  in 
accordance  with  my  own  experience,  through  all  my  ministry. 

I  have  said  that  Mr.  Aiken  privately  replied  to  some  of 
Mr.  Nettleton's  and  Dr.  Beecher's  letters.  Some  of  Dr. 
Beecher's  letters  at  the  time,  found  their  way  into  print ; 
but  no  public  notice  was  taken  of  them  Mr.  Aiken's, 
replies,  which  he  sent  through  the  mail,  seemed  to  make  no 
difference  with  the  opposition  of  either  Mr.  Nettleton  or  Di. 
Beecher.  From  a  letter  which  Dr.  Beecher  wrote,  about  thi* 
time,  to  Dr.  Taylor  of  New  Haven,  it  appeared  that  some  on* 
had  made  the  impression  upon  him,  that  the  brethren 
engaged  in  promoting  those  revivals  were  untruthful  In 


REVIVAL  AT   UTIOA.  191 

that  letter,  he  asserted  that  the  spirit  of  lying  was  so  pre 
dominant  in  those  revivals,  that  the  brethren  engaged  m 
promoting  them,  could  not  be  at  all  believed.  This  letter 
of  Dr.  Beecher  to  Dr.  Taylor,  found  its  way  into  print.  II 
it  should  be  republished  at  this  day,  the  people  of  the  region 
where  those  revivals  prevailed,  would  think  it  very  strange 
that  Dr.  Beecher  should,  even  in  a  private  letter,  ever  have 
written  such  things,  of  the  ministers  and  Christians  engaged 
in  promoting  those  great  and  wonderful  revivals. 


CHAPTEB  XV. 

REVIVAL  AT  AUBURN  Lff  1826. 

DR.  LANSING,  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Churtl 
at  Auburn,  came  to  Utica,  to  witness  the  revival  there, 
and  urged  me  to  go  out  and  labor  for  a  time  with  him.  ID 
the  summer  of  1826,  I  complied  with  his  request,  and  went 
there  and  labored  with  him  for  a  season.  Soon  after  I  went 
to  Auburn,  I  found  that  some  of  the  professors  in  the  theo 
logical  seminary  in  that  place,  were  taking  an  attitude  hos 
tile  to  the  revival.  I  had  before  known  that  ministers  east 
of  Utica  were,  a  considerable  number  of  them,  holding  cor 
respondence  with  reference  to  these  revivals,  and  taking  ao 
attitude  of  hostility  to  them. 

However,  until  I  arrived  at  Auburn,  I  was  not  fully 
aware  of  the  amount  of  opposition  I  was  destined  to  meet 
from  the  ministry ;  not  the  ministry  in  the  region  where  1 
had  labored  ;  but  from  ministers  where  I  had  not  labored, 
and  who  knew  personally  nothing  of  me,  but  were  influenced 
by  the  false  reports  which  they  heard.  But  soon  after  I 
arrived  at  Auburn,  I  learned  from  various  sources  +hat  a 
system  of  espionage  was  being  carried  on,  that  was  destined 
to  result,  and  intended  to  result,  in  an  extensive  union  of 
ministers  and  churches  to  hedge  me  in,  and  prevent  the 
spread  of  the  revivals  in  connection  with  my  labors. 

About  this  time  I  was  informed  that  Mr.  Nettleton  had 
said  that  I  could  go  no  farther  East ;  that  all  the  New 
England  churches  especially  were  closed  against  me.  Mr. 
Nettle  ton  came  and  made  a  stand  at  Albany ;  and  a  lette? 
from  Dr.  Beecher  fell  into  my  possession,  in  which  he  ex 
ported  Mr.  Nettleton  to  make  a  manful  stand  against  me 


REVIVAL  AT  AUBUKjff.  193 

and  the  revivals  in  central  New  York  ;  promising  that  when 
the  judicatures,  as  he  called  them,  of  New  England  met, 
they  would  all  speak  out,  and  sustain  him  in  his  op 
position. 

But  for  the  present  I  must  return  to  what  passed  at 
Auburn.  My  mind  became,  soon  after  I  went  there,  very 
much  impressed  with  the  extensive  working  of  that  system 
of  espionage  of  which  I  have  spoken.  Mr.  Frost,  of  Whites- 
boro',  had  come  to  a  knowledge  of  the  facts  to  a  considerable 
extent,  and  communicated  them  to  me.  I  said  nothing 
publicly,  or  as  I  recollect  privately,  to  anybody  on  the  sub 
ject  ;  but  gave  myself  to  prayer.  I  looked  to  God  with 
great  earnestness  day  after  day,  to  be  directed  ;  asking  him 
to  show  me  the  path  of  duty,  and  give  me  grace  to  ride  out 
the  storm. 

I  shall  never  forget  what  a  scene  I  passed  through  one 
day  in  my  room  at  Dr.  Lansing's.  The  Lord  showed  me  as 
in  a  vision  what  was  before  me.  He  drew  so  near  to  me, 
while  I  was  engaged  in  prayer,  that  my  flesh  literally  trem 
bled  on  my  bones.  I  shook  from  head  to  foot,  under  a  full 
sense  of  the  presence  of  God.  At  first,  and  for  some  time, 
it  seemed  more  like  being  on  the  top  of  Sinai,  amidst  its 
full  thunderings,  than  in  the  presence  of  the  cross  of  Christ. 

Never  in  my  life,  that  I  recollect,  was  I  so  awed  and 
humbled  before  God  as  then.  Nevertheless,  instead  of  feel 
ing  like  fleeing,  I  seemed  drawn  nearer  and  nearer  to  God 
— seemed  to  draw  nearer  and  nearer  to  that  Presence  that 
filled  me  with  such  unutterable  awe  and  trembling.  After 
a  season  of  great  humiliation  before  him,  there  came  a  great 
lifting  up.  God  assured  me  that  he  would  be  with  me  and 
uphold  me  ;  that  ao  opposition  should  prevail  against  me ; 
that  I  had  nothing  to  do,  in  regard  to  all  this  matter,  but 
to  keep  about  my  work,  and  wait  for  the  salvation  of  God. 

The  sense  of  God's  presence,  and  all  that  passed  between 
God  and  my  soul  at  that  time,  I  can  never  describe.  It  led 
me  to  be  perfectly  trustful,  perfectly  calm,  and  to  have 


194  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G. 

nothing  but  the  most  perfectly  kind  feelings  toward  ail  the 
brethren  that  were  misled,  and  were  arraying  themselves 
against  me.  I  felt  assured  that  all  would  come  out  right ; 
that  my  true  course  was  to  leave  everything  to  God,  and  tc 
keep  about  my  work ;  and  as  the  storm  gathered  and  the 
opposition  increased,  I  never  for  one  moment  doubted  how 
it  would  result.  I  was  never  disturbed  by  it  I  never  spent 
a  waking  hour  in  thinking  of  it ;  when  to  all  outward  ap 
pearance,  it  seemed  as  if  all  the  churches  of  the  land,  except 
where  I  had  labored,  would  unite  to  shut  me  out  of  their 
pulpits.  This  was  indeed  the  avowed  determination,  as  I 
understood,  of  the  men  that  led  in  the  opposition.  They 
were  so  deceived  that  they  thought  there  was  no  effectual 
way  but  to  unite,  and,  as  they  expressed  it,  "  put  him 
down."  But  God  assured  me  that  they  could  not  put  me 
down. 

A  passage  in  the  twentieth  chapter  of  Jeremiah  was 
repeatedly  set  home  upon  me  with  great  power.  It  reads 
thus  :  "  0  Lord,  thou  hast  deceived  me  and  I  was  de 
ceived."  In  the  margin  it  reads,  enticed.  "Thou  art 
stronger  than  I,  and  hast  prevailed.  I  am  in  derision  daily, 
every  one  mocketh  me.  For  since  I  spake,  I  cried  out,  I 
cried  violence  and  spoil ;  because  the  word  of  the  Lord  wag 
made  a  reproach  unto  me,  and  a  derision  daily.  Then  I 
said,  I  will  not  make  mention  of  him  nor  speak  any  more  in 
his  name.  But  his  word  was  in  my  heart  as  a  burning  fire 
shut  up  in  my  bones,  and  I  was  weary  with  forbearing,  and 
[  could  not  stay.  For  I  heard  the  defaming  of  many,  and 
fear  was  on  every  side.  Report,  say  they,  and  we  will  report 
it.  All  my  familiars  watched  for  my  halting,  saying, 
perad venture  he  will  be  enticed,  and  we  shall  prevail  against 
him,  and  we  shall  take  our  revenge  on  him.  But  the  Lord 
is  with  me  as  a  mighty,  terrible  one  ;  therefore  my  persecu 
tors  shall  stumble,  and  they  shall  not  prevail.  They  shall  be 
greatly  ashamed,  for  they  shall  not  prosper ;  their  ever 
lasting  confusion  shall  never  be  forgotten.  But  0  Lord  of 


BEVIVAL  AT   AUBURN.  19fi 

hosts  that  tnest  the  righteous,  and  seest  the  reins  and  the 
heart,  let  me  see  thy  vengeance  on  them  ;  for  unto  thee  have 
I  opened  my  cause."  Jer.  20  :  7-12. 

I  do  not  mean  that  this  passage  literally  described  my 
caee,  or  expressed  my  feelings ;  but  there  was  so  much 
similarity  in  the  case,  that  this  passage  was  often  a  support  tc 
my  soul.  The  Lord  did  not  allow  me  to  lay  the  opposition  tc 
heart ;  and  I  can  truly  say,  so  far  as  I  can  recollect,  I  never 
had  an  unkind  feeling  toward  Mr.  Nettleton  or  Dr.  Beecher, 
or  any  leading  opposer  of  the  work,  during  the  whole  of 
their  opposition. 

I  recollect  having  had  a  peculiar  feeling  of  horror  in 
respect  to  the  pamphlet  published,  and  the  course  taken  by 
William  R.  Weeks,  to  whom  I  have  made  allusion.  Those 
who  are  acquainted  with  the  history  of  Mr.  Weeks,  recollect 
that  soon  after  this,  he  began  to  write  a  book  which  he  called 
"The  pilgrim's  progress  in  the  nineteenth  century."  This 
was  published  in  numbers,  and  finally  bound  up  in  a  volume., 
with  which  many  of  the  readers  of  this  narrative  may  be 
familiar.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable  talent,  and  I  must 
hope  a  good  man  ;  but  as  I  think  much  deluded  in  his  phil 
osophy,  and  exceedingly  out  of  the  way  in  his  theology.  I 
do  not  mention  him  because  I  wish  to  say  any  evil  of  him, 
or  of  his  book  ;  but  merely  to  say  that  he  never  ceased,  so 
far  as  I  can  learn,  to  offer  more  or  less  opposition,  direct 
and  indirect,  to  revivals  that  did  not  favor  his  peculiar  views. 
He  took  much  pains,  without  naming  him,  to  defend  the 
course  which  Mr.  Nettleton  took,  in  putting  himself  at  the 
head  of  the  opposition  to  those  revivals.  But  God  has  dis 
posed  of  all  that  influence.  I  have  heard  nothing  of  it  now 
for  many  years. 

Notwithstanding  the  attitude  that  some  of  the  professors 
at  Auburn  were  taking,  in  connection  with  so  many  minis 
ters  abroad,  the  Lord  soon  revived  his  work  in  Auburn 
Mr.  Lansing  had  a  large  congregation,  and  a  very  intelli 


196  MEMOIB8   OF   OHABLBS  G. 

gent  one.     The  revival  soon  took  effect  among  the  people 
and  became  powerful. 

It  was  at  that  time  that  Dr.  8 of  Auburn,  who  stiU 

resides  there,  was  so  greatly  blessed  in  his  soul,  as  to  become 
quite  another  man.  Dr.  8 was  an  elder  in  the  Presby 
terian  churoh  when  I  arrived  there.  He  was  a  very  timid 
and  doubting  kind  ol  Christian  ;  and  had  but  little  Christian 
efficiency,  because  he  had  but  little  faith.  He  soon,  however, 
became  deeply  convicted  of  sin  ;  and  descended  into  the 
depths  of  humiliation  and  distress,  almost  to  despair.  He 
continued  in  this  state  for  weeks,  until  one  night,  in  a  prayer- 
meeting,  he  was  quite  overcome  with  his  feelings,  and  sunk 
down  helpless  on  the  floor.  Then  God  opened  his  eyes  to 
the  reality  of  his  salvation  in  Christ.  This  occurred  just 
after  I  had  left  Auburn,  and  gone  to  Troy,  New  York,  to 

labor.     Dr.  S soon  followed  me  to  Troy,  and  the  first 

time  I  saw  him  there,  he  exclaimed  with  an  emphasis  pecu 
liarly  his  own,  ' '  Brother  Finney,  they  have  buried  the 
Saviour,  but  Christ  is  risen. "  He  received  such  a  wonderful 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  he  has  been  ever  since  the 
rejoicing  and  the  wonder  of  God's  people. 

Partly  in  consequence  of  the  known  disapproval  of  my 
labors  on  the  part  of  many  ministers,  a  good  deal  of  opposi 
tion  sprung  up  in  Auburn  ;  and  a  number  of  the  leading 
men,  in  that  large  village,  took  strong  ground  against  the 
work.  But  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  was  among  the  people 
with  great  power. 

I  recollect  that  one  Sabbath  morning,  while  I  was  preach 
ing,  I  was  describing  the  manner  in  which  some  men  would 
ppose  their  families,  and  if  possible,  prevent  their  being 
converted.  I  gave  so  vivid  a  description  of  a  case  of  this 
kind,  that  I  said,  "Probably  if  I  were  acquainted  with  you, 
I  could  call  some  of  you  by  name,  who  treat  your  families  in 
this  manner."  At  this  instant  a  man  cried  out  in  the  con 
gregation,  "Name  me  ! "  and  then  threw  his  head  forward 
on  the  seat  before  him  ;  and  it  was  plain  that  he  trembled 


REVIVAL  A!   AUBUMT.  197 

with  great  emotion.  It  turned  out  that  he  was  treating  his 
family  in  this  manner ;  and  that  morning  had  clone  the  same 
things  that  I  had  named.  He  said,  his  crying  out,  "  Name 
me  I "  was  so  spontaneous  and  irresistible  that  he  could  not 
help  it.  But  I  fear  he  was  never  concerted  to  Christ. 

There  was  a  hatter,  by  the  name  of  H ,  residing  at 

Shis  time  in  Auburn.  His  wife  was  a  Christian  woman  ;  but 
he  was  a  Universalist,  and  an  opposer  of  the  revival.  He 
carried  his  opposition  so  far  as  to  forbid  his  wife  attend 
ing  our  meetings ;  and,  for  several  successive  evenings,  she 
remained  at  home.  One  night,  as  the  warning  bell  rang  for 

meeting,  half  an  hour  before  the  assembly  met,  Mrs.  H 

was  so  much  exercised  in  mind  about  her  husband,  that  she 
retired  for  prayer,  and  spent  the  half  hour  in  pouring  out 
her  soul  to  God.  She  told  him  how  her  husband  behaved, 
and  that  he  would  not  let  her  attend  meeting  ;  and  she  drew 
very  near  to  God. 

As  the  bell  was  tolling  for  the  people  to  assemble,  she 
came  out  of  her  closet,  as  I  learned,  and  found  that  her 
husband  had  come  in  from  the  shop ;  and,  as  she  entered 
the  sitting-room,  he  asked  her  if  she  would  not  go  to  meet 
ing  ;  and  said  that  if  she  would  go,  he  would  accompan) 
her.  He  afterwards  informed  me  that  he  had  made  up  hi* 
mind  to  attend  meeting  that  night,  to  see  if  he  could  not  get 
something  to  justify  his  opposition  to  his  wife  ;  or  at  least, 
something  to  laugh  about,  and  sustain  him  in  ridiculing  the 
whole  work.  When  he  proposed  to  accompany  his  wife,  she 
was  very  much  surprised,  but  prepared  nerself,  and  they 
came  to  meeting. 

Of  all  this,  I  knew  nothing  at  the  time,  of  course.  1 
bad  been  visiting  and  laboring  with  inquirers  the  whole  day, 
and  had  had  no  time  whatever,  to  arrange  my  thoughts,  or 
even  settle  upon  a  text.  During  the  introductory  services, 
a  text  occurred  to  my  mind.  It  was  the  words  of  the  man 
with  the  unclean  spirit,  who  cried  out,  "Let  us  alone."  I 
took  those  words  and  went  on  to  preach,  and  endeavored  te 


198  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G. 

show  up  the  conduct  of  those  sinners  that  wanted  to  let  be 
alone,  that  did  not  want  to  have  anything  to  do  with  Christ, 

The  Lord  gave  me  power  to  give  a  very  vivid  description 
of  the  course  that  class  of  men  were  pursuing.  In  the  midst 
of  my  discourse,  I  observed  a  person  fall  from  his  seat  neai 
the  broad  aisle,  who  cried  out  in  a  most  terrific  manner. 
The  congregation  were  very  much  shocked ;  and  the  outcry 
of  the  man  was  so  great,  that  I  stopped  preaching  and  stood 
still.  After  a  few  moments,  I  requested  the  congregation 
to  sit  still,  while  I  should  go  down  and  speak  with  the  man. 

I  found  him  to  be  this  Mr.  H ,  of  whom  1  have  been 

speaking.  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  had  so  powerfully  con 
victed  him,  that  he  was  unable  to  sit  on  his  seat.  When  I 
reached  him,  he  had  so  far  recovered  his  strength  as  to  be 
on  his  knees,  with  his  head  on  his  wife's  lap.  He  was  weep 
ing  aloud  like  a  child,  confessing  his  sins,  and  accusing  him 
self  in  a  terrible  manner.  I  said  a  few  words  to  him,  to 
which  he  seemed  to  pay  but  little  attention.  The  Spirit  of 
God  had  his  attention  so  thoroughly,  that  I  soon  desisted 
from  all  efforts  to  make  him  attend  to  what  I  said.  Whet) 
I  told  the  congregation  who  it  was,  they  all  knew  him  and 
his  character  ;  and  it  produced  tears  and  sobs  in  every  part 
of  the  house.  I  stood  for  some  little  time,  to  see  if  he  would 
be  quiet  enough  for  me  to  go  on  with  my  sermon  ;  but  hi? 
loud  weeping  rendered  it  impossible.  I  can  never  forget  th( 
appearance  of  his  wife,  as  she  sat  and  held  his  face  in  hoi 
hands  upon  her  lap.  There  appeared  in  her  face  a  holy  jo} 
and  triumph  that  words  cannot  express. 

We  had  several  prayers,  and  then  I  dismissed  the  meet 

ing,  and  some  persons  helped  Mr.  H to  his  house.     He 

immediately  wished  them  to  send  for  certain  of  his  compan 
ions,  with  whom  he  had  been  in  the  habit  of  ridiculing  the 
work  of  the  Lord  in  that  place.  He  could  not  rest  until  he 
had  sent  for  a  great  number  of  them,  and  had  made  con 
fession  to  them  ;  which  he  did  with  a  very  broken  heart. 

He  was  so  overcome  that  for  two  or  three  days  he  could 


REVIVAL  AT  AUBUBN.  195 

not  get  about  town,  and  continued  to  send  for  such  men  ae 
he  wished  to  see,  that  he  might  confess  to  them,  and  warn 
them  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come.  As  soon  as  he  was 
able  to  get  about,  he  took  hold  of  the  work  with  the  utmost 
humility  and  simplicity  of  character,  but  with  great  earnest 
ness.  Soon  after,  he  was  made  an  elder,  or  deacon,  and  he 
has  ever  since  been  a  very  exemplary  and  useful  Christian. 
His  conversion  was  so  marked  and  so  powerful,  and  the 
results  were  so  manifest,  that  it  did  very  much  to  silence 
opposition. 

There  were  several  wealthy  men  in  the  town  who  took 
offence  at  Dr.  Lansing  and  myself,  and  the  laborers  in  that 
revival ;  and  after  I  left,  they  got  together  and  formed  a  new 
congregation.  Most  of  these  were,  at  the  time,  unconverted 
men.  Let  the  reader  bear  this  in  mind  ;  for  in  its  propei 
place,  I  shall  have  occasion  to  notice  the  results  of  this  oppo 
sition  and  the  formation  of  a  new  congregation,  and  the 
subsequent  conversion  of  nearly  every  one  of  those  opposers. 

While  at  Auburn,  I  preached  more  or  less  in  the  neigh 
boring  churches  round  about ;  and  the  revival  spread  in 
various  directions,  to  Cayuga,  and  to  Skeneateles.  This  was 
in  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1826. 

Soon  after  my  arrival  at  Auburn,  a  circumstance  occurred 
of  so  striking  a  character,  that  I  must  give  a  brief  relation  of 
it.  My  wife  and  myself  were  guests  of  Dr.  Lansing,  the 
pastor  of  the  church.  The  church  were  much  conformed 
to  the  world,  and  were  accused  by  the  unconverted  of  being 
leaders  in  dress,  and  fashion,  and  worldliness.  As  usual  I 
directed  my  preaching  to  secure  the  reformation  of  the 
church,  and  to  get  them  into  a  revival  state.  One  Sabbath 
1  had  preached,  as  searchingly  as  I  was  able,  to  the  church, 
in  regard  to  their  attitude  before  the  world.  The  word  took 
deep  hold  of  the  people. 

At  the  close  of  my  address,  I  called,  as  usual,  upon  the 
pastor  to  pray.  He  was  much  impressed  with  the  sermon. 
Mid  instead  of  immediately  engaging  in  prayer,  he  made  » 


200  MEMOIRS   OF  CHARLES   G. 

short  but  very  earnest  address  to  the  church,  confirming 
what  I  had  said  to  them.  At  this  moment  a  man  arose  in 
the  gallery,  and  said  in  a  very  deliberate  and  distinct  man 
ner,  "  Mr.  Lansing,  I  do  not  believe  that  such  remarks  from 
you  can  do  any  good,  while  you  wear  a  ruffled  shirt  and  a 
gold  ring,  and  while  your  wife  and  the  ladies  of  your  family 
sit,  as  they  do,  before  the  congregation,  dressed  as  leaders  in 
the  fashions  of  the  day."  It  seemed  as  if  this  would  kill 
Dr.  Lansing  outright.  He  made  no  reply,  but  cast  himself 
across  the  side  of  the  pulpit,  and  wept  like  a  child.  The 
congregation  was  almost  as  much  shocked  and  affected  as 
himself.  They  almost  universally  dropped  their  heads  upon 
the  seat  in  front  of  them,  and  many  of  them  wept  or  every 
side.  With  the  exception  of  the  sobs  and  sighs,  the  house 
was  profoundly  silent.  I  waited  a  few  moments,  and  as  Dr. 
Lansing  did  not  move,  I  arose  and  offered  a  short  prayer 
and  dismissed  the  congregation. 

I  went  home  with  the  dear,  wounded  pastor,  and  when  ali 
the  family  were  returned  from  church,  he  took  the  ring 
from  his  finger — it  was  a  slender  gold  ring  that  could  hardly 
attract  notice — and  said,  his  first  wife,  Trhen  upon  her  dying 
bed,  took  it  from  her  finger,  and  placed  it  upon  his,  with  & 
request  that  he  should  wear  it  for  her  sake.  He  had  done 
so,  without  a  thought  of  its  being  a  stumbling-block.  Of  his 
ruffles  he  said,  he  had  worn  them  from  his  childhood,  and 
did  not  think  of  them  as  anything  improper.  Indeed  he 
could  not  remember  when  he  began  to  wear  them,  and  of 
course  thought  nothing  about  them.  "But,"  said  he  "if 
these  things  are  an  occasion  of  offense  to  any,  I  will  not  wear 
them."  He  was  a  precious  Christian  man,  and  an  excellent 
pastor. 

Almost  immediately  after  this,  the  church  were  disposed 
to  make  to  the  world  a  public  confession  of  their  backslid 
ing,  and  want  of  a  Christian  spirit  Accordingly  a  confes 
sion  was  drawn  up,  covering  the  whole  ground.  It  was  sub 
mitted  to  the  church  for  their  approval,  and  then  read  before 


REVIVAL  AT  AUBUB*.  201 

the  congregation.  The  church  arose  and  stood,  many  of 
them  weeping  while  the  confession  was  read.  From  this 
point  the  work  went  forward,  with  greatly  increased  power. 

The  confession  was  evidently  a  heart  work  and  no  sham  ; 
and  God  most  graciously  and  manifestly  accepted  it,  and 
the  mouths  of  gainsayers  were  shut  The  fact  is  that,  to  a 
great  extent,  the  churches  and  ministers  were  in  a  low  state 
of  grace,  and  those  powerful  revivals  took  them  by  surprise. 
I  did  not  much  wonder  then,  nor  have  I  sine  j,  that  those 
wonderful  works  of  God  were  not  well  understood  and  re 
ceived  by  those  who  were  not  in  a  revival  state. 

There  were  a  great  many  interesting  conversions  in 
Auburn  and  its  vicinity,  and  also  in  all  the  neighboring 
towns,  throughout  that  part  of  the  state,  as  the  work  spread 
in  every  direction.  In  the  Sprinf  of  1831  I  was  again 
in  Aul.iim  and  saw  another  powerful  revival  there.  The 
circun>stances  were  peculiar,  and  deeply  interesting,  and 
bf  rotated  in  their  appropriate  pi&oe  in  this  narrative 
9* 


CHAPTER  XVL 

REVIYAL  AT  TROY   AND   AT   NEW    LEBANON. 

EARLY  in  the  autumn  of  this  year,  1826,  I  accepted  &n 
invitation  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Beman  and  his  session 
to  labor  with  them  in  Troy,  for  the  revival  of  religion.  At 
Troy,  I  spent  the  fall  and  winter,  and  the  revival  was  power 
ful  in  that  city.  I  have  already  said  that  Mr.  Nettleton  had 
been  sent  by  Dr.  Beecher,  as  I  understood,  to  Albany,  to 
make  a  stand  against  the  revivals  that  were  spreading  in 
central  New  York.  I  had  had  the  greatest  confidence  in 
Mr.  Nettleton,  though  I  had  never  seen  him.  I  had  had 
the  greatest  desire  to  see  him  ;  so  much  so  that  I  had  fre 
quently  dreamed  of  visiting  him,  and  obtaining  information 
from  him  in  regard  to  the  best  means  of  promoting  a  revival. 
I  felt  like  sitting  at  his  feet,  almost  as  I  would  at  the  feet  of 
an  apostle,  from  what  I  had  heard  of  his  success  in  promot 
ing  revivals.  At  that  time  my  confidence  in  him  was  so 
great  that  I  think  he  could  have  led  me,  almost  or  quite,  at 
his  discretion. 

Soon  after  my  arrival  at  Troy,  I  went  down  to  Albany 
to  see  him.  He  was  the  guest  of  a  family  with  which  I  was 
acquainted.  I  spent  part  of  an  afternoon  with  him,  and 
conversed  with  him  in  regard  to  his  doctrinal  views  ;  espe 
cially  of  the  views  held  by  the  Dutch  and  Presbyterian 
churches  in  regard  to  the  nature  of  moral  depravity.  I  found 
that  he  entirely  agreed  with  me,  so  far  as  I  had  opportunity 
to  converse  with  him,  on  all  the  points  of  theology  upoii 
which  we  conversed.  Indeed  there  had  been  no  complaint, 
by  Dr.  Beecher,  or  Mr.  Nettleton,  of  our  teaching  in  those 
revivals.  They  did  not  complain  at  all  that  we  did  not 


EEVIVAL   AT   TROY.  203 

teach  what  they  regarded  as  the  true  Gospel.  What  they 
complained  of  was  something  that  they  supposed  was  highly 
objectionable  in  the  measures  that  we  used. 

Our  conversation  was  brief,  upon  every  point  upon  which 
we  touched.  I  observed  that  he  avoided  the  subject  of  pro- 
noting  revivals.  When  I  told  him  that  I  intended  to  remain 
n  Albany,  and  hear  him  preach  in  the  evening,  he  manifested 
aneasiness,  and  remarked  that  I  must  not  be  seen  with  him. 

Hence  Judge  C ,  who  accompanied  me  from  Troy,  and 

who  had  been  in  college  with  Mr.  Nettleton,  went  with  me 
to  \  he  meeting,  and  we  sat  in  the  gallery  together.  I  saw 
enough  to  satisfy  me  that  I  could  expect  no  advice  or  in 
struction  from  him,  and  that  he  was  there  to  take  a  stand 
against  me.  I  soon  found  I  was  not  mistaken. 

Since  writing  the  last  paragraph,  my  attention  has  been 
called  to  a  statement  in  the  biography  of  Mr.  Nettleton,  to 
the  effect  that  he  tried  in  vain  to  change  my  views  and  prac 
tices  in  promoting  revivals  of  religion.  I  cannot  think  that 
Mr.  Nettleton  ever  authorized  such  a  statement,  for  certainly 
he  never  attempted  to  do  it.  As  I  have  said,  at  that  time  he 
could  have  moulded  me  at  discretion ;  but  he  said  not  a 
word  to  me  about  my  manner  of  conducting  revivals,  nor  did 
he  ever  write  a  word  to  me  upon  the  subject.  He  kept  me 
at  arm's  length  ;  and  although,  as  I  have  said,  we  conversed 
on  some  points  of  theology  then  much  discussed,  it  was  plain 
that  he  was  unwilling  to  say  any  thing  regarding  revivals, 
and  would  not  allow  me  to  accompany  him  to  meeting. 
This  was  the  only  time  I  saw  him,  until  I  met  him  in  the 
convention  at  New  Lebanon.  At  no  time  did  Mr.  Nettleton 
try  to  correct  my  views  in  relation  to  revivals. 

We  soon  began  to  feel,  in  Troy,  the  influence  of  Di 
Beecher's  letters  over  some  of  the  leading  members  of  Dr. 
Beman's  church.  This  opposition  increased,  and  was  doubt 
less  fomented  by  an  outside  influence,  until  finally  it  was 
determined  to  complain  of  Dr.  Beman,  and  bring  his  case 
before  the  presbytery.  This  was  done :  and  for  several 


J04  MBMOIBS  OP   OHAHLES   B. 

weeks  the  presbytery  sat,  and  examined  the  charges  against 
him. 

In  the  meantime,  I  went  on  in  my  labors  in  the  revival 
Christian  people  continued  praying  mightily  to  God.  I  kept 
up  preaching  and  praying  incessantly,  and  the  revival  went 
on  with  increasing  power ;  Dr.  Beman,  in  the  meantime, 
being  under  the  necessity  of  giving  almost  his  entire  attention 
to  his  case  before  the  presbytery.  When  the  presbytery  had 
examined  the  charges  and  specifications,  I  think  they  were 
nearly  or  quite  unanimous  in  dismissing  the  whole  subject, 
and  justifying  the  course  which  he  had  taken.  The  charge 
was  not  for  heresy,  nor  were  the  specifications  for  heresy,  1 
believe  ;  but  for  things  conjured  up  by  the  enemies  of  the 
revival,  an4  by  those  who  were  misled  by  an  c-utside 
influence. 

In  the  midst  of  the  revival  it  became  necessary  that  I 
should  leave  Troy  for  a  week  or  two,  and  visit  my  family  at 
Whitesboro\  While  I  was  gone,  Eev.  Horatio  Foote  was 
invited  by  Dr.  Beman  to  preach.  I  do  not  know  how  often 
he  preached  ,  but  this  I  recollect,  that  he  gave  great  offence 
to  the  already  disaffected  members  of  the  church.  He  bore 
down  upon  them  with  the  most  searching  discourses,  as  J 
learned.  A  few  of  them  finally  made  up  their  minds  to 
withdraw  from  the  congregation.  They  did  so,  and  estab 
lished  another  congregation  ;  but  this  was  after  I  had  left 
Troy,  I  do  not  recollect  how  long. 

The  failure  of  this  effort  to  break  Dr.  Beman  down,  con 
siderably  discomfited  the  outside  movement,  in  opposition  to 
the  revival.  A  great  many  very  interesting  incidents  oc 
curred  during  this  revival,  that  I  must  pass  in  silence,  lest 
they  should  appear  to  reflect  too  severely  on  the  opposers  of 
the  work- 
in  this  revival,  as  in  those  that  had  preceded,  there  was 
a  very  earnest  spirit  of  prayer.  We  had  a  prayer-meeting 
from  house  to  house,  daily,  at  eleven  o'clock.  At  one  of 
those  meetings  I  recollect  that  &  Mr.  3 ,  cashier  ot  a  bank 


REVIVAL    A.T   TBOY.  205 

in  that  city,  was  so  pressed  by  the  spirit  of  prayer,  that  when 
the  meeting  was  dismissed  he  was  unable  to  rise  from  his 
knees,  as  we  had  all  just  been  kneeling  in  prayer.  He 
remained  upon  his  knees,  and  writhed  and  groaned  in 

agony.  He  said,  "  Pray  for  Mr.  ,"  president  of  the 

bank  of  which  he  was  cashier.  This  president  was  a  wealthy, 
unconverted  man.  When  it  was  seen  that  his  soul  was  in 
travail  for  that  man,  the  praying  people  knelt  down,  and 
wrestled  in  prayer  for  his  conversion.  As  soon  as  the  mind 

of  Mr.  S was  so  relieved  that  he  could  go  home,  we  all 

retired  ;  and  soon  after  the  president  of  the  bank,  for  whom 
we  prayed,  expressed  hope  in  Christ.  He  had  not  before 
this,  I  believe,  attended  any  of  the  meetings ;  and  it  was 
not  known  that  he  was  concerned  about  his  salvation.  But 
prayer  prevailed,  and  God  soon  took  his  cast  f-jr  hand. 

The  father  of  Judge  C who  was  at  Albany  with  me, 

was  living  with  his  son  whose  guest  I  was  at  the  time.  The 
old  gentleman  had  been  a  judge  in  Vermont.  He  wag 
remarkably  correct  in  his  outward  life,  a  venerable  man, 
whose  house,  in  Vermont,  had  been  the  home  of  ministers 
who  visited  the  place  ;  and  he  was  to  all  appearance  quite 
satisfied  with  his  amiable  and  self-righteous  life.  His  wife 
had  told  me  of  her  anxiety  for  his  conversion,  and  his  son 
had  repeatedly  expressed  fear  that  his  father's  self-righteous 
ness  would  never  be  overcome,  and  that  his  natural  amiabil 
ity  would  ruin  his  soul. 

One  Sabbath  morning,  the  Holy  Spirit  opened  the  case 
to  my  apprehension,  and  showed  me  how  to  reach  it.  In  a 
few  moments  I  had  the  whole  subject  in  my  mind.  I  went 
down  stairs,  and  told  the  old  lady  and  her  son  what  I  was 
about  to  do,  and  exhorted  them  to  pray  earnestly  for  him. 
I  followed  out  the  divine  showing,  and  the  woru  look  such 
powerful  hold  of  him  th&t  he  spent  a  sleepless  night  His 
wife  informed  me  that  he  had  spent  a  night  of  anguish,  that 
his  self -righteousness  was  thoroughly  annihilated,  and  thai 
he  was  almost  in  despair.  His  son  had  told  me  that  he 


206  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G.    FINNEY. 

long  prided  himself,  as  being  better  than  members  of  the 
church.  He  soon  became  clearly  converted,  and  lived  a 
Christian  life  to  the  end. 

Before  I  left  Troy,  a  young  lady,  a  Miss  8 ,  from 

New  Lebanon,  in  Columbia  county,  who  was  an  only 
daughter  of  one  of  the  deacons  or  elders  of  the  church  in 
New  Lebanon,  came  to  Troy,  as  I  understood,  to  purchase  a 
dress  for  a  ball  which  she  wished  to  attend.  She  had  a 
young  lady  relative  in  Troy,  who  was  numbered  among  the 
young  converts,  and  was  a  zealous  Christian.  She  invited 
Miss  S —  to  attend  with  her  all  the  meetings.  This  aroused 
the  enmity  of  her  heart.  She  was  very  restive ;  but  her 
cousin  plead  with  her  to  stay  from  day  to  day,  and  to  attend 
the  meetings,  until,  before  she  left  she  was  thoroughly  con 
verted  to  Christ. 

As  soon  as  her  eyes  were  opened,  and  her  peace  was 
made  with  God,  she  went  immediately  home,  and  began  her 
labors  for  a  revival  in  that  place.  Religion  in  New  Lebanon 
was,  at  that  time,  in  a  very  low  state.  The  young  people 
were  nearly  all  unconverted ;  and  the  old  members  of  the 
church  were  in  a  very  cold  and  inefficient  state.  Miss 

S 's   father   had   become   very  formal ;  and   for  a  long 

time  religious  matters  had  been  in  a  great  measure  neglected 
in  the  place.  They  had  an  aged  minister,  a  good  man,  I 
trust,  but  a  man  that  did  not  seem  to  know  how  to  perform 
revival  work. 

Miss  S first  began  at  home,  and  besought  her  father 

to  give  up  his  "  old  prayer,"  as  she  expressed  it,  and  wake 
up,  and  be  engaged  in  religion.  As  she  was  a  great  favor 
ite  in  the  family,  and  especially  with  her  father,  her  con 
version  and  conversation  greatly  affected  him.  He  was  very 
soon  aroused,  and  became  quite  another  man,  and  felt 
deeply  that  they  must  have  a  revival  of  religion.  The 
daughter  went  also  to  the  house  of  her  pastor,  and  began 
with  a  daughter  of  his  who  was  in  her  sins.  She  was  soon 
inverted  ;  and  tb^v  two  united  in  prayer  for  a  revival  oJ 


REVIVAL  Af  1BOY.  207 

* 

religion,  and  went  to  work,  from  house  to  house,  in  stirring 
up  the  people. 

In  the  course  of  a  week  or  two,  there  was  so  much 

interest  excited  that  Miss  S came  out  herself  to  Troy,  to 

beg  me  to  go  there  to  preach.  She  was  requested  to  do  so 
by  the  pastor  and  by  members  of  the  church.  I  went  out 
and  preached.  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  was  poured  out,  and 
the  revival  soon  went  forward  with  great  power.  Very 
interesting  incidents  occurred  almost  every  day.  Striking 
conversions  were  multiplied,  and  a  great  and  blessed  change 
came  over  the  religious  aspect  of  the  whole  place. 

Here  we  were  out  of  the  region  poisoned  by  the  influence 
of  the  opposition  raised  by  Dr.  Beecher  and  Mr.  JSTettleton  ; 
consequently  we  heard  but  little  of  opposition  at  this  place 
during  the  revival,  especially  from  professors  of  religion. 
Everything  seemed  to  go  on  harmoniously,  so  far  as  I  know, 
in  the  church.  They  were  soon  led  to  feel  that  they  greatly 
needed  a  revival,  and  seemed  to  be  very  thankful  that  God 
had  visited  them.  Most  of  the  prominent  men  in  the  com 
munity  were  converted. 

Among  these  was  a  Dr.  W ,  who  was  said  to  be  an  infi 
del.  He  at  first  manifested  a  good  deal  of  hostility  to  the  re 
vival,  and  declared  that  the  people  were  mad.  But  he  was 

made  a  particular  subject  of  prayer  by  Miss  S ,  and  some 

others  who  laid  hold  upon  his  case,  and  who  had  great  faith 
that,  notwithstanding  his  fiery  opposition,  he  would  soon  be 
converted.  One  Sunday  morning  he  came  to  meeting,  and  I 
could  see  that  those  who  felt  for  him  were  burdened.  Their 
heads  were  down,  and  they  were  in  a  prayerful  state  during 
aearly  the  whole  sermon.  It  was  plain,  however,  before  night, 
that  the  doctor's  opposition  began  to  give  way.  He  listened 
through  the  day,  and  that  night  he  spent  in  a  deeply  exer 
cised  state  of  mind.  The  next  morning  he  called  on  me, 
subdued  like  a  little  child,  and  confessed  that  he  had  been 
all  wrong.  He  was  very  frank  in  opening  his  heart,  and 
declaring  the  change  that  had  come  over  him.  It  was 


208  MEMOIK8  OP  CHARLES   G.    FINNEY. 

that  he  was  another  man  ;  and  from  that  day  he  took  hole 
of  the  work  and  went  forward  with  all  his  might. 

There  was  also  a  Mr.  T ,  a  merchant,  probably  the 

most  prominent  and  wealthy  citizen  of  the  town  at  that 
time,  but  a  sceptic.  1  recollect  one  evening  I  preached  on 
the  text,  "  The  carnal  mind  i&  enmity  against  G-od."  He 
was  present.  He  had  been  a  very  moral  man,  in  the  com 
mon  acceptation  of  that  term  ;  and  it  had  been  very  difficult 
to  fasten  anything  upon  his  mind  that  wo  aid  convict  him 
of  sin.  His  wife  was  a  Christian  woman,  and  the  Lord  had 
converted  hia  daughter.  The  state  of  things  in  the  town 
and  in  his  family,  had  so  far  interested  him,  that  he  would 
^ome  to  meeting  and  hear  what  was  said.  The  next  day 
aftei  this  sermon  on  moral  depravity,  he  confessed  himself 
convinced.  He  told  me  it  came  home  to  him  with  resistless 
p'-yer.  He  saw  it  was  all  true,  and  assured  me  his  mind 
»vas  made  up  to  serve  the  Lord  the  rest  of  his  life. 

I  recollect  also  that  John  T.  Avery,  a  noted  evangelist, 
who  has  labored  in  many  places  for  many  years,  was  present 
at  that  meeting.  His  family  lived  in  New  Lebanon  He 
was  born  and  brought  up  there  ;  and  was  at  this  time  a  lad, 
perhaps  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  of  age.  The  next  morning 
after  that  sermon  was  preached,  he  came  to  me,  one  of  the 
most  interesting  youthful  converts  that  I  have  ever  seen. 
He  began  and  told  me  what  had  been  passing  in  his  mind 
for  several  days ;  and  then  he  added,  "  I  was  completely 
rolled  up  in  the  sermon,  and  it  carried  me  right  along.  I 
could  understand  it.  I  gave  up  ;  I  gave  all  to  Christ" 
This  he  said  in  a  manner  not  to  be  forgotten.  But  why 
should  I  multiply  cases  ?  I  might  spend  hours  in  relating 
incidents,  and  the  conversion  of  particular  individuals. 
But  I  must  not  enter  too  much  into  particulars. 

But  I  must  mention  a  little  incident,  connected  some 
what  with  the  opposition  that  had  been  manifested  at  Troy. 
The  presbytery  of  Columbia  had  a  meeting,  somewhere 
within  its  bounds,  while  I  was  at  New  Lebanon  ,  and  being 


REVIVAL    AT   TKOY.  209 

uif ormed  that  I  was  laboring  in  one  of  their  churches,  they 
appointed  a  committee  to  visit  the  place,  and  inquire  intc 
the  state  of  things ;  for  they  had  been  led  to  believe,  from 
Troy  and  other  places,  and  from  the  opposition  of  Mr. 
Nettle  ton  and  the  letters  of  Dr.  Beecher,  that  my  method  of 
conducting  revivals  was  so  very  objectionable,  that  it  was  the 
duty  of  presbytery  to  inquire  into  it.  They  appointed  two 
of  their  number,  as  I  afterward  understood,  to  visit  the 
place  ;  and  they  attempted  to  do  so.  As  I  afterward  learned, 
though  I  do  not  recollect  to  have  heard  it  at  the  time,  the 
news  reached  New  Lebanon,  of  this  action  of  the  presbytery 
and  it  was  feared  that  it  might  create  some  division,  and 
make  some  disturbance,  if  this  committee  came.  Some  of 
the  most  engaged  Christians  made  this  a  particular  subject 
of  prayer  ;  and  for  a  day  or  two  before  the  time  when  ihey 
were  expected,  they  prayed  much  that  the  Lord  would  over 
rule  this  thing,  and  not  suffer  it  to  divide  the  church,  or 
introduce  any  element  of  discord.  The  committee  were 
expected  to  be  there  on  the  Sabbath,  and  attend  the  meet 
ings.  But  the  day  before,  a  violent  snow-storm  set  in  ;  and 
the  snow  fell  so  deep  that  they  found  it  impossible  to  get 
through,  were  detained  over  the  Sabbath,  and  on  Monday, 
found  their  way  back  to  their  own  congregations.  Those 

brethren  were   the   Kev.  J B and  the   Eev.  Mr 

C .     Mr.  C was  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church 

at  Hudson,  New  York  ;  and  Mr.  B was  pastor  of  the 

Presbyterian  church  in  Chatham,  a  village  some  fifteen  or 
sixteen  miles  below  Albany. 

Soon  after  this,  I  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  B , 

informing  me  that  the  presbytery  had  appointed  him  one  ci 
a  committee  to  visit  me,  and  make  some  inquiry  in  regard  tc 
my  mode  of  conducting  revivals,  and  inviting  me  to  come 
and  spend  a  Sabbath  with  him,  and  preach  for  him.  I  did 
so.  As  I  understood  afterward,  his  report  to  the  presbytery 
was,  that  it  was  unnecessary  and  useless  for  them  to  take  any 
farther  action  in  the  case  ;  that  the  Lord  was  in  the  work 


BIO  MEMOIRS   OF    CHARLES   G.    PITNEY. 

and  they  should  take  heed  lest  they  be  found  fighting  against 
Q-od.  I  heard  no  more  of  opposition  from  that  source.  I 
have  never  doubted  that  the  presbytery  of  Columbia  were 
honestly  alarmed  at  what  they  had  heard.  I  have  never 
called  in  question  the  propriety  of  the  course  which  they 
**>ok  ;  and  I  ever  admired  their  manifest  honesty,  in  receiving 
testimony  from  proper  sources.  So  far  as  I  know,  thej 
thereafter  sympathized  with  the  work  that  was  going  on. 

About  this  time,  a  proposition  was  made  by  somebody,  f 
know  not  who,  to  hold  a  convention  or  consultation  on  the 
subject  of  conducting  revivals.  Correspondence  was  entered 
into  between  the  Western  brethren  who  had  been  engaged  in 
those  revivals,  and  the  Eastern  brethren  who  had  been 
opposing  them.  It  was  finally  agreed  to  hold  the  conven 
tion  on  a  certain  day,  I  think  in  July,  1827,  in  New  Lebanon, 
where  I  had  been  laboring.  I  had  left  New  Lebanon,  and 
had  been  spending  a  short  time  at  the  village  of  Little  Falls, 
on  the  Mohawk,  near  Utica.  Some  very  interesting  incidents 
occurred  there  during  my  short  stay  ;  but  nothing  so  marked 
as  naturally  to  find  a  place  in  this  narrative,  as  I  was  obliged 
to  leave  after  a  very  short  stay  in  that  place,  and  return  to 
New  Lebanon  to  attend  the  convention. 

It  would  seem  that  the  design  of  this  meeting  has  since 
been,  by  many,  very  much  misunderstood.  I  find  there  is 
an  impression  in  the  public  mind,  that  some  complaint  had 
been  alleged  against  myself  ;  and  that  this  meeting  was  for 
the  trial  of  myself,  as  complained  of,  before  a  council.  But 
this  was  by  no  means  the  case.  I  had  nothing  to  do  with 
getting  up  the  convention.  Nor  was  I  any  more  particularly 
concerned  in  its  results,  than  any  of  the  members  that 
attended.  The  design  was  to  get  at  the  facts  of  those 
revivals  that  had  been  so  much  opposed,  to  consult  in  refer 
ence  to  them,  compare  views,  and  see  if  we  could  not  come 
to  a  better  understanding  than  had  existed,  between  the 
Eastern  opposers  of  the  revivals,  and  the  brethren  who  had 
been  instrumental  in  promoting  them. 


REVIVAL  AT   TBO1.  211 

I  arrived  in  New  Lebanon  a  day  or  two  before  the  con 
vention  met.  On  the  appointed  day,  the  invited  members 
arrived.  They  were  not  men  that  had  been  appointed  by 
any  ecclesiastical  bodies  ;  but  they  had  been  invited  by  the 
brethren  most  concerned,  East  and  West,  to  come  together 
for  consultation.  None  of  us  were  men  representing  any 
churches  or  ecclesiastical  bodies  whatever.  We  came  to 
gether  with  no  authority  to  act  for  the  church,  or  any 
branch  of  it ;  but  simply,  as  I  have  said,  to  consult,  to  com 
pare  views,  to  see  if  anything  was  wrong  in  fact ;  and  if  so, 
to  agree  to  correct  what  was  wrong,  on  either  side.  For  my 
self,  I  supposed  that  as  soon  as  the  brethren  came  together, 
and  exchanged  views,  and  the  facts  were  understood,  that 
the  brethren  from  the  East  who  had  opposed  the  revivals, 
especially  Dr.  Beecher  and  Mr.  Nettleton,  would  see  their 
error,  and  that  they  had  been  misled  ;  and  that  the  thing 
would  be  disposed  of  ;  for  I  was  certain  that  the  things  of 
which  they  complained  in  their  letters,  had  no  foundation 
in  fact. 

Of  the  brethren  that  composed  this  convention  I  caL 
remember  the  following  :  from  the  East  there  were  Dr. 
Beecher  and  M.r.  Nettleton,  Dr.  Joel  Hawes  from  Hartford, 
Dr.  Dutton  from  New  Haven,  Dr.  Humphrey,  president  of 
Amherst  College,  Rev.  Justin  Edwards  of  Andover,  and  a 
considerable  number  of  other  brethren  whose  names  I  do 
not  recollect.  From  the  West,  that  is  from  central  New 
York  where  those  revivals  had  been  in  progress,  there  were. 
Dr.  Beman  of  Troy,  Dr.  Lansing  of  Auburn,  Mr.  Aiken  of 
Utica,  Mr.  Frost  of  Whirasboro,  Mr.  G-illett  of  Rome,  Mr. 
Coe  of  New  Hartford,  Mr.  Gale  of  Western,  Mr.  Weeks  oi 
Paris  Hill,  and  perhaps  some  others  whose  names  I  do  not 
now  recollect,  and  myself. 

We  soon  discovered  that  some  policy  was  on  foot  in 
organizing  the  convention,  on  the  part  of  Dr.  Beecher.  How 
ever  we  regarded  it  not.  The  convention  was  organized, 
<uxd  J  believe  Dr.  Humphrey  presided  as  moderator.  There 


312  MEMOIRS   OF   CHAKLES   (*. 

was  not  the  least  unkindness  of  feeling,  that  I  know  of,  ex 
isting  among  the  members  of  the  convention  toward  each 
other.  It  is  true  that  the  members  from  the  West  regarded 
with  suspicion  M>.  Weeks,  as  I  have  already  intimated,  a* 
being  the  man  who  was  responsible,  in  a  considerable  degret 
for  the  misapprehension  of  the  Eastern  brethren.  As  soon 
as  the  convention  was  duly  organized,  and  the  business 
before  us  was  stated  and  understood,  the  inquiry  was  raised 
by  the  brethren  from  the  West  in  regard  to  the  source 
whence  Dr.  Beecher  and  Mr.  Nettleton  had  received  their 
information.  We  had  been  particularly  solicitous  to  find 
out  who  it  was  that  was  misleading  those  brethren,  and  giv 
ing  them  such  a  view  of  the  revivals,  as  to  make  them  feel 
justified  in  the  course  they  were  taking.  We  wanted  to 
know  whence  all  this  mysterious  opposition  had  proceeded. 
We  therefore  raised  the  inquiry  at  once  ;  and  wished  to 
know  of  those  brethren  from  what  source  they  had  received 
their  information,  as  touching  those  revivals.  It  was  discov 
ered  at  once  that  this  was  an  embarrassing  question. 

I  should  have  observed  before,  and  now  wish  to  be  dis 
tinctly  understood  to  say,  that  no  opposition  had  been  mani 
fested  by  any  of  the  ministers  from  the  East,  who  attended 
the  convention,  except  Dr.  Beecher  and  Mr.  Nettleton.  It 
was  not  difficult  to  see  from  the  outset  that  Dr.  Beecher  felt 
himself  committed,  and  that  his  reputation  was  at  stake  ; 
that  as  his  letters,  some  of  them,  had  found  their  way  into 
the  public  prints,  he  would  be  held  responsible  for  them, 
should  they  not  prove  to  have  been  called  for.  It  was  very 
plain  that  he  and  Mr.  Nettleton  were  both  very  sensitive.  It 
was  also  very  apparent,  that  Dr.  Beecher  had  secured  the 
attendance  of  these  most  influential  of  the  New  England 
ministers,  in  order  to  sustain  himself  before  the  public,  and 
justify  himself  in  the  course  he  had  taken.  As  for  Mr.  Nettle- 
ton,  Dr.  Beecher  had  assured  him  that  he  would  be  sustained 
by  New  England  ;  and  that  all  the  New  England  churcb 
judicatories  woui1  sueak  out  in  his  favor,  and  sustain  him. 


REVIYAL  AT  TROT.  213 

When  the  question  was  raised  as  to  the  sources  of  the 
information,  Dr.  Beecher  replied  :  "  We  have  not  come  here 
to  be  catechised  ;  and  our  spiritual  dignity  forbids  us  to 
answer  any  such  questions."  For  myself  I  thought  this  was 
strange,  that  when  such  letters  had  been  written  and  pub 
lished  as  had  appeared  in  opposition  to  those  revivals  ;  when 
such  things  had  been  affirmed  as  facts,  which  were  no  facts 
at  all ;  and  when  such  a  storm  of  opposition  had  been  raised 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land  ;  and  we  had 
come  together  to  consider  the  whole  question,  that  we  were 
not  allowed  to  know  the  source  from  which  their  informa 
tion  had  been  obtained.  But  we  found  ourselves  utterly 
unable  to  learn  anything  about  it. 

The  convention  sat  several  days  ;  but  as  the  facts  came 
out  in  regard  to  the  revivals,  Mr.  Nettleton  became  so  very 
nervous  that  he  was  unable  to  attend  several  of  our  sessions, 
He  plainly  saw  that  he  was  losing  ground,  and  that  nothing 
could  be  ascertained  that  could  justify  the  course  that  he 
was  taking.  This  must  have  been  very  visible  also  to  Dr. 
Beecher. 

I  should  have  said  before,  that  when  the  question  came 
up,  how  the  facts  were  to  be  learned  about  those  revivals,  Dr. 
Beecher  took  the  ground  that  the  testimony  of  those  breth 
ren  from  the  West,  who  had  been  engaged  in  promoting 
them,  should  not  be  received  ;  that  as  we  were,  in  a  sense, 
parties  to  the  question,  and  had  been  ourselves,  the  objects 
of  his  censure,  it  was  like  testifying  in  our  own  case ;  that 
we  were  therefore  not  admissible  as  witnesses,  and  the  facts 
should  not  be  received  from  us.  Bat  to  this,  the  brethren 
from  the  East  would  not  listen  for  a  moment  Dr.  Humph 
rey  very  firmly  remarked,  that  we  were  the  best  witnesses 
that  could  be  produced  ;  that  we  knew  what  we  had  done, 
and  what  had  been  done,  in  those  revivals  of  religion  ;  that 
we  were  therefore  the  most  competent  and  the  most  credible 
witnesses  ;  and  that  our  statements  were  to  be  received  with 
out  hesitation,  by  the  convention.  To  this,  so  far  as  I  know 


214  MEMOIRS   OF   CHABLE8   G. 

there  was  a  universal  agreement,  with  the  exception  of  Dr. 
Beecher  and  Mr.  Nettleton. 

This  decision,  however,  it  was  very  plain  at  the  time,  great 
ly  affected  both  Dr.  Beecher  and  Mr.  Nettleton.  They  saw 
that  if  the  facts  came  out,  from  the  brethren  who  had  wit 
nessed  the  revivals,  who  had  been  on  the  ground,  and  knew 
all  about  them,  they  might  entirely  overrule  all  the  misap 
prehensions  and  all  the  inisstaternents  that  had  been  mado 
and  entertained  upon  the  subject.  Our  meeting  was  ver^ 
fraternal  throughout ;  there  was  no  sparring  or  bitterness 
manifested ;  but,  with  the  exception  of  the  two  brethren 
whom  I  have  named,  Dr.  Beecher  and  Mr.  Nettleton,  the 
brethren  from  the  East  appeared  candid,  and  desirous  to 
know  the  truth,  and  glad  to  learn  the  particulars  of  the 
Western  revivals. 

There  were  several  points  of  discussion  during  the  con 
vention,  especially  one  on  the  propriety  of  women  taking 
any  part  in  social  meetings.  Dr.  Beecher  brought  up  that 
objection,  and  argued  it  at  length,  insisting  upon  it,  that 
the  practice  was  unscriptural  and  inadmissible.  To  this  Dr 
Beman  replied  in  a  very  short  address,  showing  conclusively, 
that  this  practice  was  familiar  to  the  apostles  ;  and  that  in 
the  eleventh  chapter  of  Corinthians,  the  apostle  called  the 
attention  of  the  church  to  the  fact  that  Christian  women 
had  given  a  shock  to  Eastern  ideas,  by  their  practice  of  taking 
part,  and  praying  in  their  religious  meetings,  without  their 
veils.  He  showed  clearly  that  the  apostle  did  not  complain 
of  their  taking  part  in  the  meeting,  but  of  the  fact  that  they 
did  so,  laying  aside  their  veils  ;  which  had  given  a  shock  to 
the  prevalent  sentiment,  and  occasion  of  reproach  to  heathen 
opposers.  The  apostle  did  not  reprove  the  practice  of  their 
praying,  but  simply  admonished  them  to  wear  their  veils 
when  they  did  so.  To  this  reply  of  Dr.  Beman,  no  answer 
wa&  made  or  attempted.  It  was  manifestly  too  conclusive 
**>  admit  of  any  refutation. 

Near  the  close  of  the  convention,  Mr.  Nettleton 


REVIVAL  AT  TBOY.  215 

manifestly  very  much  agitated ;  and  said  that  he  would  now 
give  the  convention  to  understand  the  reasons  he  had  for  the 
course  he  had  taken.  He  had  what  he  called  "a  historical 
letter,"  in  which  he  professed  to  give  the  reasons,  and  state 
the  facts,  upon  which  he  had  founded  his  opposition.  I 
was  glad  to  hear  the  announcement  that  he  wished  to  read 
this  letter  to  the  convention.  A  copy  of  it  had  been  sent  to 
Mr.  Aiken,  when  I  was  laboring  with  him  in  Utica,  and  Mr. 
Aiken  had  given  it  to  me.  I  had  it  in  my  possession  at  the 
convention,  and  should  have  called  it  up  in  due  time,  had 
not  Mr.  Nettleton  done  so. 

He  went  on  to  read  the  letter.  It  was  a  statement,  under 
distinct  heads,  of  the  things  of  which  he  complained  ;  and 
which  he  had  been  informed,  were  practiced  in  those  re 
vivals,  and  especially  by  myself.  It  is  evident  that  the 
letter  was  aimed  at  me  particularly,  though,  perhaps,  I  was 
seldom  mentioned  in  it,  by  name.  Yet  the  things  com 
plained  of  were  so  presented,  that  there  was  no  mistaking 
the  design.  The  convention  listened  attentively  to  the  whole 
letter,  which  was  as  long  as  a  sermon.  Mr.  Nettleton  then 
observed,  that  the  convention  had  before  them  the  facts  upon 
which  he  had  acted,  and  which  he  supposed  had  called  for 
and  justified  his  proceedings. 

When  he  sat  down  I  arose,  and  expressed  my  satisfac 
tion  that  that  letter  had  been  read  ;  and  remarked  that  I 
had  a  copy  of  it,  arid  should  have  read  it  in  due  time,  if  Mr. 
Nettleton  had  not  done  so.  I  then  affirmed  that  so  far  as 
I  was  personally  concerned,  not  one  of  those  facts  mentioned 
there,  and  complained  of,  was  true.  And  I  added,  "  All  the 
brethren  are  here,  with  whom  I  have  performed  all  these 
labors,  and  they  know  whether  I  am  chargeable  with  any  of 
these  things,  in  any  of  their  congregations.  If  they  know  or 
believe  that  any  of  these  things  are  true  of  me,  let  them  say 
so  now  and  here." 

They  all  at  once  affirmed,  either  by  expressly  saying  so 
or  by  their  manifest  acquiescence,  that  they  knew  of  no  suck 


416  tflMOIBS   OF  CHABLBS  Q.    PLNTNBY. 

thing.  Mr.  Weeks  was  present ;  and  I  expected,  therefore^ 
that  if  anything  was  said  in  reply  to  my  explicit  denial  of  all 
the  facts  charged  in  Mr.  Nettleton's  letter,  with  respect  to 
myself,  that  it  would  come  from  Mr.  Weeks.  I  supposed 
that  if  he  had  written  to  Dr,  Beecher  or  Mr.  Nettleton, 
affirming  those  facts,  that  he  would  feel  called  upon,  then 
and  there,  to  speak  out,  and  justify  what  he  had  written. 
But  he  said  not  a  word.  No  one  there  pretended  to  justify 
a  single  sentence  in  Mr.  Nettleton's  historical  letter,  that 
related  to  myself.  This  of  course  was  astounding  to  Mr. 
Nettleton  and  Dr.  Beecher.  If  any  of  their  supposed  facts 
had  been  received  from  Mr.  Weeks,  no  doubt  they  expected 
him  to  speak  out,  and  justify  what  he  had  written.  But  he 
said  nothing  intimating  that  he  had  any  knowledge  of  any 
of  the  facts  that  Mr.  Nettleton  had  presented  in  his  letter. 
The  reading  of  this  letter,  and  what  immediately  followed, 
orepared  the  way  for  closing  up  the  convention. 

And  now  follow  some  things  that  I  am  sorry  to  be  obliged 
to  mention.  Mr.  Justin  Edwards  had  been  present  during 
all  the  discussions  ;  and  had  attended,  I  believe,  all  the  ses 
sions  of  the  convention.  He  was  a  very  intimate  friend  of 
Dr.  Beecher  and  Mr.  Nettleton,  and  he  must  have  seen 
clearly  how  the  whole  thing  stood.  At  whose  suggestion,  I 
do  not  know,  near  the  close  of  the  convention,  he  brought  in 
a  string  of  resolutions,  in  which,  from  step  to  step,  he  re 
solved  to  disapprove  of  such,  and  such,  and  such  measures 
in  the  promotion  of  revivals.  He  went  over,  in  his  resolu 
tions,  nearly,  if  not  quite,  every  specification  contained  in 
Mr.  Nettleton's  historical  letter,  disapproving  of  all  the 
things  of  which  Mr.  Nettleton  had  complained. 

When  he  had  read  his  resolutions,  it  was  said  immediately 
by  several  of  the  brethren  from  the  West,  "  We  approve  of 
these  resolutions,  but  what  is  their  design  ?  It  is  manifest 
chat  their  design  is  to  make  the  public  impression  that 
inch  things  have  been  practised  ;  and  that  this  convention, 
sondemning  those  practices,  condemns  the  brethren  tKM 


REVIVAL  AT  TROT.  217 

have  been  engaged  in  those  revivals  ;  and  that  this  conven 
tion  justifies,  therefore,  the  opposition  that  has  been  made. 
Dr.  Beecher  insisted  that  the  design  of  the  resolutions  was 
entirely  prospective  ;  that  nothing  was  asserted  or  implied 
with  respect  to  the  past,  but  that  they  were  merely  to  serve 
as  land-marks,  and  to  let  it  be  known  that  the  convention 
disapproved  of  such  things,  if  they  ever  should  exist,  with  no 
implication  whatever  that  any  such  things  had  been  done. 

It  wa«  immediately  replied,  that  from  the  fact  that  such 
complaints  had  gone  abroad,  and  it  was  publicly  known 
that  such  charges  had  been  made,  it  was  evident  that  these 
resolutions  were  designed  to  sustain  the  brethren  who  had 
made  the  opposition,  and  to  make  the  impression  that  such 
things  had  been  done  in  those  revivals,  as  were  condemned 
in  the  resolutions.  It  was  indeed  perfectly  plain  that  such 
was  the  meaning  of  those  resolutions  on  the  part  cf  Mr. 
Beecher  and  Mr.  Nettleton. 

The  brethren  from  the  West  said,  "  Of  course  we  shall 
vote  for  these  resolutions.  We  believe  in  these  things  as  much 
as  you  do  ;  and  we  as  much  disapprove  of  the  practices  con 
demned  in  these  resolutions  as  you  do  yourselves  ;  therefore 
we  cannot  help  voting  for  them.  But  we  believe  that  they 
are  intended  to  justify  this  opposition,  to  have  a  retrospec 
tive  rather  than  a  prospective  application."  However  we 
passed  the  resolutions,  I  believe  unanimously  ;  and  I  recollect 
saying  that,  for  my  part,  I  was  willing  that  these  resolutions 
should  go  forth,  and  that  all  the  facts  should  be  left  to  the 
publication  and  adjudication  of  the  solemn  judgment.  I 
then  proposed  that,  before  we  dismissed,  we  should  pass  a 
resolution  against  lukewarmnesa  in  religion,  and  condemning 
it  as  strongly  as  any  of  the  practices  mentioned  in  the  reso 
lutions.  Dr.  Beecher  declared  that  there  was  no  danger  of 
lukewarmness  at  all ;  whereupon  the  convention  adjourned 
sine  die. 

Hov  the  publication  of  the  whole  proceedings  was 
received  by  the  public,  I  need  not  say.  In  the  second 
10 


318  MEMOIRS   OF   CHAELES   G.    FIN1TEY. 

volume  of  the  biography  of  Dr.  Beecher,  page  101,  I  find 
the  following  note  by  the  editor.  He  says,  "  A  careful 
perusal  of  the  minutes  of  this  convention  has  satisfied  us, 
that  there  was  no  radical  difference  of  views  between  the 
Western  brethren  and  those  from  New  England,  and  that 
but  for  the  influence  of  one  individual,  the  same  settlement 
might  have  been  made  there,  which  was  afterward  effected 
at  Philadelphia."  This  is  no  doubt  true.  The  fact  is  that 
had  not  Mr.  Nettleton  listened  to  false  reports,  and  got 
committed  against  those  revivals,  no  convention  would  have 
been  held  upon  this  subject,  or  thought  of.  It  was  all  the 
more  wonderful  that  he  should  have  credited  such  reports, 
since  he  had  so  often  been  made  the  subject  of  manifold 
misrepresentations.  But  he  was  nearly  worn  out,  had 
become  exceedingly  nervous,  and  was  of  course  fearful,  and 
easily  excited  ;  and  withal  had  the  infirmity,  attributed  to 
him  by  Dr.  Beecher  in  his  biography,  of  never  giving  up  his 
own  will.  I  am  sure  that  I  say  this  with  entirely  kind  feel 
ings  toward  Mr.  Nettleton.  I  never  entertained  or  had  any 
other. 

After  this  convention,  the  reaction  of  public  feeling  was 
overwhelming.  Late  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  I  met  Mr. 
Nettleton  in  the  city  of  New  York.  He  told  me  he  was 
there,  to  give  his  letters  against  the  Western  revivals  to  the 
public,  in  pamphlet  form.  I  asked  him  if  he  would  publish 
his  "historical  letter"  which  he  read  before  the  convention. 
He  said  he  must  publish  his  letters,  to  justify  what  he  had 
done.  I  told  him  if  he  published  that  letter  it  would  react 
against  himself,  as  all  who  were  acquainted  with  those 
revivals  would  see  that  he  was  acting  without  a  valid  reason. 
He  replied  that  he  should  publish  his  letters,  and  would  risk 
the  reaction.  He  published  several  other  letters,  but  that 
one  he  did  not  publish,  so  far  as  I  could  learn.  If  it  had 
been  true,  the  publication  of  it  would  have  made  the  impres 
sion  that  his  opposition  had  been  called  for.  But  as  it  wa? 
not  true,  it  was  well  for  him  that  he  did  not  publish  it 


REVIVAL   AT  TROY.  219 

Here  I  must  take  a  slight  notice  of  some  things  I  find  in 
Dr.  Beecher's  biography,  about  which  I  think  there  must 
have  been  some  misunderstanding.  The  biography  repre 
sents  him  as  having  justified  his  opposition  to  those  revivals 
— that  is  to  the  manner  in  which  they  were  conducted — 
until  the  day  of  his  death  ;  and  as  having  maintained  that  the 
evils  complained  of  were  real  and  were  corrected  by  the  op 
position.  If  this  was  his  opinion  after  thfit.  convention,  he 
must  still  have  believed  that  the  brethren  who  testified  that 
no  such  things  had  been  done,  were  a  set  of  liars  ;  and  he 
must  have  wholly  rejected  our  united  testimony.  But  as 
he  and  Mr.  Nettleton  were  exceedingly  anxious  to  justify 
their  opposition,  if  they  still  believed  those  statements  in  the 
' '  historical  letter  "  to  be  true,  why  did  they  not  publish  it, 
and  appeal  to  those  who  were  on  the  ground  and  witnessed 
the  revivals  ?  Had  the  letter  been  true,  its  publication 
would  have  been  their  justification.  If  they  still  believed  it 
true,  why  was  it  not  published  with  Mr.  Nettleton's  other 
letters  ?  That  the  developments  made  at  that  convention, 
had  shaken  the  confidence  of  Dr.  Beecher  in  the  wisdom  and 
justice  of  Mr.  Nettleton's  opposition,  I  had  inferred  from  the 
fact  that  during  my  labors  in  Boston,  a  year  and  a  half  after 
the  convention,  and  after  Mr.  Nettleton's  letters  were  pub 
lished,  Dr.  Beecher,  speaking  of  that  convention,  remarked 
that  after  that,  he  "  would  not  have  had  Mr.  Nettleton  come 
to  Boston  for  a  thousand  dollars."  Is  it  possible  that,  until 
his  death,  Dr.  Beecher  continued  to  believe  that  the  pastors 
of  those  churches  where  those  revivals  occurred,  were  liars, 
and  not  to  be  believed  in  regard  to  facts  which  must  have 
been  within  their  personal  knowledge  ? 

I  find  in  the  biographies  of  Dr.  Beecher  and  Mr.  Nettle* 
ton,  much  complaint  of  the  bad  spirit  that  prevailed  in  those 
revivals.  Their  mistake  lies  in  their  attributing  a  spirit  of 
denunciation  to  the  wrong  side.  I  never  heard  the  name  of 
Dr.  Beecher  or  Mr.  Ne+fl<»ton  mentioned,  during  those  reviv 
als,  in  public,  tb*f  '  recollect,  and  oertainly  not  censoriously 


420  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G.    FINtfEY. 

They  were  never,  even  in  private  conversation,  spoken  of,  tc 
my  knowledge,  with  the  least  bitterness.  The  friends  and 
promoters  of  those  revivals  were  in  a  sweet,  Christian  spirit, 
and  as  far  as  possible  from  being  denunciatory.  If  they 
had  been  in  a  denunciatory  spirit,  those  blessed  revivals  could 
never  have  been  promoted  by  them,  and  the  revivals  coifld 
never  have  turned  out  as  gloriously  as  they  did.  No,  the 
denunciation  was  on  the  side  of  the  opposition.  A  quotation 
from  Dr.  Beecher's  biography  will  illustrate  the  animus  of  the 
opposition.  In  the  second  volume,  page  101,  Dr.  Beecher  is 
represented  as  saying  to  me,  at  the  convention  at  New  Leba 
non,  "  Finney,  I  know  your  plan,  and  you  know  I  do  ;  you 
mean  to  come  to  Connecticut,  and  carry  a  streak  of  fire  to 
Boston  But  if  you  attempt  it,  as  the  Lord  liveth,  I'll  meet 
you  at  the  state  line,  and  call  out  all  the  artillery-men,  and 
fight  every  inch  of  the  way  to  Boston,  and  then  111  fight  you 
there. "  I  do  not  remember  this  ;  but,  as  Dr.  Beecher  does, 
let  it  illustrate  the  spirit  of  his  opposition.  The  fact  is,  he 
was  grossly  deceived  at  every  step.  I  had  no  design  nor 
desire  to  go  to  Connecticut,  nor  to  Boston.  The  above,  and 
many  other  things  which  I  find  in  his  biography,  show  how 
completely  he  was  deceived,  and  how  utterly  ignorant  he  was 
of  the  character,  and  motives,  and  doings,  of  those  who  had 
labored  in  those  glorious  revivals.  I  write  these  things  with 
no  pleasure.  I  find  much  in  this  biography  that  surprises 
me,  and  leads  me  to  the  conclusion  that,  by  some  mistake, 
Dr.  Beecher  has  been  misunderstood  and  misrepresented. 
But  I  pass  by  other  matters. 

After  this  convention  I  heard  no  more  of  the  opposition 
f  Dr.  Beecher  and  Mr.  Nettleton.  Opposition  in  that  form 
had  spent  itself.  The  results  of  the  revivals  were  such  as  to 
shut  the  mouths  of  gainsayers,  and  convince  everybody  that 
they  were  indeed  pure  and  glorious  revivals  of  religion,  and 
as  far  from  anything  objectionable  as  any  revivals  that  ever 
were  witnessed  in  this  world.  Let  any  one  reud  the  Acts  df 
the  Apostles,  and  the  record  of  the  revivals  of  their  day  ;  and 


REVIVAL   AT  TROY.  221 

then  read  what  they  say,  in  their  epistles,  of  the  reaction, 
backsliding,  and  apostacies  that  followed.  Then  let  them 
tiud  out  the  truth  respecting  the  glorious  revivals  of  which  1 
have  been  writing,  their  commencement,  progress,  and 
results,  which  have  been  more  and  more  manifest  for  nearly 
forty  years,  and  they  cannot  fail  to  see  that  these  revival 
were  as  truly  from  God  as  those. 

Kevivals  should  increase  in  purity  and  power,  as  intelli 
gence  increases.  The  converts  in  apostolic  times  were  either 
Jews,  with  all  their  prejudice  and  ignorance,  or  degraded 
heathen.  The  art  of  printing  had  not  been  discovered. 
Copies  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  of  the  written  word  of 
God,  were  not  to  be  had,  except  by  the  rich  who  were  able 
to  purchase  manuscript  copies.  Christianity  had  no  litera 
ture  that  was  accessible  to  the  masses.  The  means  of  instruc 
tion  were  not  at  hand.  With  so  much  darkness  and  igno 
rance,  with  so  many  false  notions  of  religion,  with  so  much 
to  mislead  and  dpbase,  and  so  few  facilities  for  sustaining  a 
religious  reformation,  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  revivals 
of  religion  should  be  pure  and  free  from  errors. 

We  have,  and  preach,  the  same  Gospel  that  the  apostles 
preached.  We  have  every  facility  for  guarding  against  error 
in  doctrine  and  practice,  and  for  securing  a  sound  Gospel 
religion.  The  people  among  whom  these  great  revivals  pre 
vailed,  were  an  intelligent,  cultivated  people.  They  had 
not  only  the  means  of  secular,  but  also  of  religious  education, 
abounding  in  their  midst.  Nearly  every  church  had  an 
educated,  able,  and  faithful  pastor.  These  j^astors  were  well 
able  to  judge  of  the  soundness,  and  discretion  of  an  evange 
list,  whose  labors  they  wished  to  enjoy.  They  were  well  able 
fcc  judge  of  the  propriety  of  the  measures  employed.  God 
set  his  seal  to  the  doctrines  that  were  preached,  and  to  the 
means  that  were  used  to  carry  forward  that  great  work, 
in  a  most  striking  and  remarkable  manner.  The  results 
are  now  found  in  all  parts  of  the  land.  The  converts  of 
*ihose  revivals  are  still  living,  and  laboring  for  Christ  and  fo? 


322  MEMOIBS   OF  CHARLES   G. 

souls,  in  almost  or  quite  every  state  in  this  Union.  It  is  but 
just  to  say  that  they  are  among  the  most  intelligent  and  use 
ful  Christians  in  this,  or  any  other  country. 

As  I  have  since  labored  extensively  in  this  country,  and 
in  Great  Britain,  and  no  exceptions  have  been  taken  to  m\ 
measures,  it  has  been  assumed  and  asserted  that  since  the 
opposition  made  by  Mr.  Nettleton  and  Dr.  Beecher,  I  have 
been  reformed,  and  have  given  up  the  measures  they  com 
plained  of.  This  is  an  entire  mistake.  I  have  always  and 
everywhere,  used  all  the  measures  I  used  in  those  revival/ 
and  have  often  added  other  measures,  whenever  I  have 
deemed  it  expedient.  I  have  never  seen  the  necessity  of  ref 
ormation  in  this  respect.  Were  I  to  live  my  life  over  again, 
I  think  that,  with  the  experience  of  more  than  forty  yearc 
in  revival  labors,  I  should,  under  the  same  circumstances, 
use  substantially  the  same  measures  that  I  did  then. 

And  let  me  not  be  understood  to  take  credit  to  myself. 
No  indeed.  It  was  no  wisdom  of  my  own  that  directed  me. 
I  was  made  to  feel  my  ignorance  and  dependence,  and  led 
to  look  to  God  continually  for  his  guidance.  I  had  no 
doubt  then,  nor  have  I  ever  had,  that  God  led  me  by  his 
Spirit,  to  take  the  course  I  did.  So  clearly  did  he  lead  me, 
from  day  to  day,  that  I  never  did  or  could  doubt  that  1 
was  divinely  directed. 

That  the  brethren  who  opposed  those  revivals  were  good 
men,  I  do  not  doubt.  That  they  were  misled,  and  grossly  and 
most  injuriously  deceived,  I  have  just  as  little  doubt.  If  they 
died  under  the  belief  that  they  had  just  reasons  for  what  they 
did,  and  wrote,  and  said,  and  that  they  corrected  the  evils  of 
whieh  they  compkined,  they  died  grossly  deceived  in  this 
respect.  It  is  not  for  the  safety  of  the  church,  the  honor  of 
rev'vals,  or  the  glory  of  Christ,  that  posterity  should  believe 
that  those  evils  existed,  and  were  corrected,  by  such  a  spirit, 
arid  in  such  a  manner,  as  has  been  represented.  I  should 
have  remained  silent  had  not  so  marked  an  effort  been  made 
to  perpetuate  and  confirm  the  delusion,  that  the  opposition 


REVIVAL   Al    TBOY.  223 

to  those  revivals  was  justifiable  and  successful.     The  fact 
is,  it  was  neither. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  Dr.  Beecher  was  led,  oy  somebody, 
to  believe  that  his  opposition  was  called  for.  From  hie 
biography,  it  appears  that  at  Philadelphia,  the  next  spring 
after  the  convention,  it  was  agreed  by  himself,  Dr.  Beman 
and  others,  to  drop  the  subject,  and  publish  no  more  in  re 
gard  to  those  revivals.  The  truth  is,  that  all  the  controversy 
and  all  the  publishing  had  been  on  the  side  of  the  opposition. 
Previously  to  the  meeting  at  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Nettletoi? 
had  published  his  letters,  and  I  saw  nothing  farther  in  print 
upon  the  subject. 

I  was  not  a  party  to  the  agreement  entered  into  at  Phil 
adelphia ;  nevertheless,  had  not  Dr.  Beecher' s  biography 
reopened  this  subject,  with  the  manifest  design  to  justify  the 
course  that  he  took,  and  rivet  the  impression  upon  the  pub 
lic  mind,  that  in  making  that  opposition  to  those  revivals  he 
performed  a  great  and  good  work,  I  should  not  feel  called 
upon  to  say,  what  I  can  not  now  be  justified  in  withholding. 
I  write  from  personal  knowledge,  and  to  me  it  matters  not 
who  may  have  given  to  Dr.  Beecher  the  supposed  facts  upon 
which  he  acted.  Those  asserted  facts  were  no  facts,  as  I 
stated  before  the  convention  ;  to  which  statement  every 
brother  with  whom  I  had  labored  assented.  This  was  proof, 
if  anything  can  be  proven  oy  human  testimony.  This  testi 
mony,  it  would  seem,  Dr.  Beecher  did  not  believe,  if  his 
biographer  has  not  misrepresented  him.  And  what  will  the 
churches  in  Oneida  county  say  to  this?  Will  they,  can 
they  believe  that  such  men  as  Rev.  Dr.  Aiken,  Rev.  John 
Frost,  Rev.  Moses  Gillett,  Rev.  Mr.  Coe,  and  the  other  men 
from  that  county,  who  attended  that  convention,  deliberate 
ly  falsified  upon  a  subject  which  was  within  their  own  per« 
sonal  knowledge  ?  It  matters  not  who  Dr.  Beecher^ 
informants  were  ;  certainly  none  of  the  pastors  where  those 
revivals  prevailed,  ever  gave  him  any  information  that  justi 
fied  his  course  ;  and  no  other  men  understood  the  matter  w 


224  MEMOIRS  OF  CHAKLBS  G. 

well  as  they  did.  I  submit  that,  as  the  convention  decide^ 
they  were  the  best  possible  witnesses  of  what  was  said  and 
done  in  their  own  congregations ;  and  their  testimony  was 
unanimous  that  no  such  things  were  done  as  were  charged. 

I  had  read  the  strong,  and  even  terrible  charges  against 
the  brethren  who  labored  in  those  revivals,  contained  in  Dr. 
Beecher's  letter  to  Dr.  Taylor,  in  which  he  states  that  his 
correspondence  will  justify  what  he  was  doing  and  writing 
against  those  brethren.  When  I  learned  that  this  matter 
was  to  be  spread  before  the  public  in  Dr.  Beecher's  biogra 
phy,  I  hoped  that,  at  last,  we  should  get  at  the  authors  of 
those  reports,  through  the  publication  of  his  correspondence. 
But  I  see  nothing  in  his  correspondence  to  justify  his  course. 
Are  these  charges  to  be  virtually  repeated  and  stereotyped, 
and  the  correspondence,  by  which  they  are  said  to  be  justi 
fied,  concealed  ?  If,  as  it  seems,  Dr.  Beecher,  until  the  day 
of  his  death,  continued  to  reject  our  united  testimony,  may 
we  not  know  by  whose  counter  testimony  ours  is  impeached  ? 

On  page  103,  of  the  second  volume  of  Dr.  Beecher's 
autobiography,  we  have  the  following  :  "  In  the  spring  of 
1828,"  said  Dr.  Beecher  in  conversation  on  the  subject;  "I 
found  out  that  Mr.  Finney's  friends  were  laying  their  plans 
to  make  an  impression  on  the  general  assembly,  that  held 
its  session  at  Philadelphia,  and  to  get  one  of  their  men  into 
Mr.  Skinner's  place.  Skinner's  church  had  just  asked  me  to 
preach  for  them  ;  and  I  wrote  back  that  I  would  supply,  if 
they  wished,  while  the  assembly  was  in  session.  That 
blocked  somebody's  wheels.  I  stayed  till  the  close,  when 
Beman  preached  half  a  day.  That  defeated  their  plans. 
They  failed."  What  this  means  I  can  not  say.  In  reading 
he  above,  and  what  follows  to  the  end  of.  the  chapter,  to 
gether  with  what  I  find  elsewhere  on  this  subject,  in  this 
biography,  I  stand  amazed  in  view  of  the  suspicions  and 
delusions  under  which  Dr.  Beecher's  mind  was  laboring.  II 
any  of  my  friends  were  trying  to  get  into  F)r.  Skinner's  pulpit 
which  hf  hM-«J  VH<'Hr<-<i.  (  hnvc  n<>  r<M'oiif>ru<'t:  of  t'ver  having 


REVIVAL  AT  TBOY.  225 

Heard  of  it.  I  was,  at  that  time,  a  minister  in  the  presbyte- 
rian  church,  and  was  preaching  in  Philadelphia  when  the 
assembly  was  in  session,  and  while  Dr.  Beecher  was  there. 
I  was  as  ignorant  as  a  child  of  all  this  management  revealed 
in  the  biography.  I  shared  none  of  the  terrors  and  distrac 
tions,  that  seem  to  have  so  much  distressed  Dr.  Beecher  and 
Mr.  Nettleton.  If  any  of  my  friends  were  sharing  in  the 
state  of  mind  in  which  these  brethren  were,  I  knew  it  not. 

The  truthful  record  of  my  labors  up  to  the  time  of  the 
convention,  and  from  that  time  onward,  will  show  how  lit 
tle  I  knew  or  cared  what  Dr.  Beecher  and  Mr.  Nettleton 
were  saying  or  doing  about  me.  I  bless  the  Lord  that  I  was 
kept  from  being  diverted  from  my  work  by  their  opposition, 
and  that  I  never  gave  myself  any  uneasiness  about  it. 
When  at  Auburn,  as  I  have  related,  God  had  given  me  the 
assurance  that  he  would  overrule  all  opposition,  without  my 
turning  aside  to  answer  my  opposers.  This  I  never  forgot. 
Under  this  divine  assurance  I  went  forward  with  a  single 
eye,  and  a  trustful  spirit ;  and  now  when  I  read  what  agita 
tions,  suspicions,  and  misapprehensions  possessed  the  minds 
of  these  brethren,  I  stand  amazed  at  their  delusion  and 
consequent  anxiety,  respecting  myself  and  my  labors.  At 
the  very  time  that  Dr.  Beecher  was  in  Philadelphia,  manag 
ing  with  members  of  the  general  assembly,  as  related  in  his 
biography,  I  was  laboring  in  that  city,  and  had  been  for  sev 
eral  months,  in  different  churches,  in  the  midst  of  a  power 
ful  revival  of  religion,  perfectly  ignorant  of  Dr.  Beecher's 
errand  there.  I  can  not  be  too  thankful  that  God  kept  me 
from  being  agitated,  and  changed  in  my  spirit,  or  views  of 
labor,  by  all  the  opposition  of  those  days. 
10* 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

REYIVAL   IN    STEPHENTOWH. 

AFTER  this  convention,  I  remained  a  short  time  in 
Lebanon.     I  do  not  think  the  convention  injured  the 
religious  state  of  the  people  in  that  place.     It  would  have 
done  so,  had  any  facts  come  out  to  justify  the  opposition 
which  they  knew  had  been  made  to  the  revivals  that  had 
been  the  subject  of  discussion.     But,  as   it  resulted,  the 
church  in  New  Lebanon  were,  I  believe,  edified  and  strength 
ened  by  what  they  knew  of  the  convention.     Indeed,  every 
thing  had  been  conducted  in  a  spirit  tending  to  edify  rathei 
than  stumble  the  people. 

Soon  after  the  adjournment  of   the  convention,  on  tht 
Sabbath,  as  I  came  out  of  the  pulpit,  a  young  lady  by  the 

name  of  S ,  from  Stephentown,  was  introduced  to  me 

She  asked  me  if  I  could  not  go  up  to  their  town  and  preach. 
I  replied,  that  my  hands  were  full,  and  that  I  did  not  see 
that  I  could.  I  saw  her  utterance  was  choked  with  deep 
feeling ;  but  as  I  had  not  time  to  converse  with  her  then, 
I  went  to  my  lodging. 

Afterward  I  made  inquiry  about  Stephentown,  a  place 
north  of,  and  adjoining  New  Lebanon.  Many  years  before, 
%  wealthy  individual  had  died,  and  given  to  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  that  place,  a  fund,  the  interest  of  which  was  suf 
ficient  to  support  a  pastor.  Soon  after  this,  a  Mr.  B— — , 
who  had  been  a  chaplain  in  the  Revolutionary  army,  was 
settled  there  as  pastor  of  the  church.  He  remained  until 
the  church  ran  down,  and  he  finally  became  an  open  infidel 
Thie  had  produced  a  most  disastrous  influence  in  that  town 


REVIVAL   IN    STEPHEN  TOWN.  227 

He  remained  among  them,  openly  hostile  to  the  Christian 
religion. 

After  he  had  ceased  to  be  pastor  of  the  church,  they  had 
had  one  or  two  ministers  settled.  Nevertheless,  the  church 
declined,  and  the  state  of  religion  grew  worse  and  worse 
until,  finally,  they  had  left  their  meeting-house,  as  so  few 
attended  meeting,  and  held  their  services  on  the  Sabbath, 
in  a  small  school-house,  which  stood  near  the  church. 

The  last  minister  they  had  had,  affirmed  that  he  stayed 
until  not  more  than  half-a-dozen  people  in  the  town  would 
attend  on  the  Sabbath  ;  and  although  there  was  a  fund  for 
his  support,  and  his  salary  was  regularly  paid,  yet  he  could 
not  think  it  his  duty  to  spend  his  time  in  laboring  in  such  a 
field.  He  had,  therefore,  been  dismissed.  No  other  denom 
ination  had  taken  possession  of  the  field,  so  as  to  excite  an} 
public  interest,  and  the  whole  town  was  a  complete  moral 
waste.  Three  elders  of  the  Presbyterian  church  remained, 
and  about  twenty  members.  The  only  unmarried  person  in 

the  church,  was  this  Miss  S ,  of  whom  I  have  spoken. 

Nearly  the  whole  town  was  in  a  state  of  impenitence.  It 
'vas  a  large,  rich,  farming  town,  with  no  considerable  village 
in  it. 

On  the  next  Sabbath,  Miss  S met  me  again,  as  I  came 

out  of  the  pulpit,  and  begged  me  to  go  up  there  and  preach  ; 
and  asked  me  if  I  knew  anything  of  the  state  of  things  there. 
I  informed  her  that  I  did ;  but  I  told  her  I  did  not  know 
how  I  could  go.  She  appeared  greatly  affected,  too  much  so 
to  converse,  for  she  could  not  control  her  feelings.  These 
facts,  with  what  I  had  heard,  began  to  take  hold  of  me  ;  and 
my  mind  began  to  be  profoundly  stirred  in  respect  to  the 
state  of  things  in  Stephentown.  I  finally  told  her  that  ii 
the  elders  of  the  church  desired  me  fo  come,  she  might  have 
A  notice  given  out  that  I  would  come  up,  the  Lord  willing, 
and  preach  in  their  church,  the  next  Sabbath  at  five  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon.  This  would  allow  me  to  preach  twice  in 
New  Lebanon,  after  which  I  could  ride  up  to  Stephen  to  wr 


<J2b  MEMOIK8   OF   CHARLES   G. 

and  preach  at  five  o'clock.  This  seemed  to  light  up 
her  countenance  and  lift  the  load  from  her  heart.  She  went 
home  and  had  the  notice  given. 

Accordingly  the  next  Sabbath,  after  preaching  the  second 
j  time,  one  of  the  young  converts  at  New  Lebanon  offered  to 
/  take  me  up  to  Stephentown  in  hie  carriage.  When  he  came 
in  his  buggy  to  take  me,  I  asked  him,  "  Have  you  a  steady 
horse  ?  "  "0  yes  I "  he  replied,  "  perfectly  so  "  ;  and  smiling, 
asked,  "What  made  you  ask  the  question  ?"  "Because," 
I  replied,  "  if  the  Lord  wants  me  to  go  to  Stephentown,  the 
devil  will  prevent  it  if  he  can  ;  and  if  you  have  not  a  steady 
horse,  he  will  try  to  make  him  kill  me."  He  smiled,  and 
we  rode  on ;  and,  strange  to  tell,  before  we  got  there,  that 
horse  ran  away  twice,  and  came  near  killing  us.  His  owner 
expressed  the  greatest  astonishment,  and  said  he  had  never 
known  such  a  thing  before. 

However,  in  due  time  we  arrived  in  safety  at  Mr.  S 's, 

the  father  of  Miss  S whom  I  have  mentioned.     He  lived 

about  half  a  mile  from  the  church,  in  the  direction  of  New 
Lebanon.  As  we  went  in,  we  met  Maria — for  that  was  her 
name — who  tearfully,  yet  joyfully  received  us,  and  showed 
me  to  a  room  where  I  could  be  alone,  as  it  was  not  quite 
time  for  meeting.  Soon  after  I  heard  her  praying  in  a 
room  over  my  head.  When  it  was  time  for  meeting,  we  all 
went,  and  found  a  very  large  gathering.  The  congregation 
was  solemn  and  attentive,  but  nothing  very  particular  oc 
curred  that  evening.  I  spent  the  night  at  Mr.  S 's,  and 

this  Maria  seemed  to  be  praying  over  my  room  nearly  all 
night.  I  could  hear  her  low,  trembling  voice,  interrupted 
often  by  sobs  and  manifest  weeping.  I  had  made  no  ap 
pointment  to  come  again  ;  but  before  I  left  in  the  morning, 
ihe  plead  so  hard,  that  I  consented  to  have  an  appointment 
made  for  me  for  five  o'clock  the  next  Sabbath. 

When  I  came  up  on  the  next  Sabbath,  nearly  the  same 
things  occurred  as  before  ;  but  the  congregation  was  more 
crowded  ;  and  as  the  house  was  old,  for  fear  the  galleries 


REVIVAL  AT  8TEPHENTOWN.  329 

would  break  down,  they  had  been  strongly  propped  during 
fche  week.  I  could  see  a  manifest  increase  of  solemnity  and 
interest,  the  second  time  I  preached  there.  I  then  left  an 
appointment  to  preach  again.  At  the  third  service  the 
Spirit  of  God  was  poured  out  on  the  congregation. 

There  was  a  Judge  P ,  that  lived  in  a  small  village  in 

one  part  of  the  town,  who  had  a  large  family  of  unconverted 
children.  At  the  close  of  the  service  as  I  came  out  of  the 

pulpit,  Miss  S stepped  up  to  me,  and  pointed  me  to  a 

pew — the  house  had  then  the  old  square  pews — in  which  sat 
a  young  woman  greatly  overcome  with  her  feelings.  I  went 
in  to  speak  to  her,  and  found  her  to  be  one  of  the  daughters 

of  this  Judge  P .  Her  convictions  were  very  deep.  I 

aat  down  by  her  and  gave  her  instructions  ;  and  I  think,  be 
fore  she  left  the  house  she  was  converted.  She  was  a  very 
intelligent,  earnest  young  woman,  and  became  a  very  useful 
Christian.  She  was  afterwards  the  wife  of  the  evangelist 
dnderwood,  who  has  been  so  well  known  in  many  of  the 
churches,  in  New  Jersey  especially,  and  in  New  England. 

She  and  Miss  S seemed  immediately  to  unite  their 

prayers.  But  I  could  not  see,  as  yet,  much  movement 
among  the  older  members  of  the  church.  They  stood  in 
^uch  relations  to  each  other,  that  a  good  deal  of  repentance 
and  confession  had  to  pass  among  them,  as  a  condition  of 
their  getting  into  the  work. 

The  state  of  things  in  Stephentown,  now  demanded  that 
I  should  leave  New  Lebanon,  and  take  up  my  quarters  there. 
[  did  so.  The  spirit  of  prayer  in  the  meantime  had  come 
powerfully  upon  me,  as  had  been  the  case  for  some  time  with 

Miss  S .  The  praying  power  so  manifestly  spreading 

and  increasing,  the  work  soon  took  on  a  very  powerful  type  ; 
so  much  so  that  the  word  of  the  Lord  would  cut  the  strong 
est  men  down,  and  render  them  entirely  helpless.  I  could 
name  many  cases  of  this  kind. 

One  of  the  first  that  I  recollect  was  on  Sabbath,  when 
I  was  preaching  on  the  text,  "  God  is  love."  There  was  a 


230  MEMOIRS   OF  CHABLES   <*. 

man  by  the  name  of  J ,  a  man  of  strong  nerves,  and  01 

considerable  prominence  as  a  farmer,  in  the  town.  He  sat 
almost  immediately  before  me,  near  the  pulpit.  The  first 
that  I  observed  was  that  he  fell,  and  writhed  in  agony  for  a 
few  moments  ;  but  afterwards  became  still,  and  nearly  mo 
tionless,  but  entirely  helpless.  He  remained  in  this  state 
antil  the  meeting  was  out,  when  he  was  taken  home.  He 
was  rery  soon  converted,  and  became  an  effective  worker,  in 
bringing  his  friends  to  Christ. 

In  the  course  of  this  revival,  Zebulon  R.  Shipherd,  a 
celebrated  lawyer  from  Washington  county,  New  York,  be 
ing  in  attendance  upon  the  court  at  Albany,  and  hearing  of 
the  revival  at  Stephentown,  so  disposed  of  his  business  as 
to  come  out  and  labor  with  me  in  the  revival.  He  was  an 
earnest  Christian  man,  attended  all  the  meetings,  and  en 
joyed  them  greatly.  He  was  there  when  the  November 
elections  occurred  through  the  State.  I  looked  forward  to 
the  election  day  with  considerable  solicitude,  fearing  that 
the  excitement  of  that  daj  would  greatly  retard  the  work. 
I  exhorted  Christians  to  watch  and  pray  greatly,  that  the 
work  might  not  be  arrested  by  any  excitement  that  should 
occur  on  that  day. 

On  the  evening  of  election  day  I  preached.  When  I 
came  out  of  the  pulpit,  after  preaching,  Mr.  Shipherd — who, 
by  the  way  was  the  father  of  Rev.  J.  J.  Shipherd  who  after 
ward  established  Oberlin — beckoned  to  me  from  a  pew  where 
he  sat  to  come  to  him.  It  was  a  pew  in  the  corner  of  the 
house,  at  the  left  hand  of  the  pulpit.  I  went  to  him,  and 
found  one  of  the  gentlemen  who  had  sat  at  the  table  to  re 
ceive  votes  during  the  day,  so  overcome  with  conviction  of 
sin  as  to  be  unable  to  leave  his  seat  I  went  in  and  had 
aome  conversation  with  him,  and  prayed  with  him,  and  he 
was  manifestly  converted.  A  considerable  portion  of  the 
congregation  had,  in  the  meantime,  sat  down.  As  I  came  out 
of  the  pew,  and  was  about  to  retire,  my  attention  was  called  to 
another  pew,  at  the  right  hand  side  of  the  pulpit,  where  wae 


REVIVAL  IN   STEPHENTOWN.  S31 

another  of  those  men  that  had  been  prominent  at  the  elec 
tion,  and  had  been  receiving  votes,  precisely  in  the  same 
condition  of  mind.  He  was  too  much  overpowered  by  the 
state  of  his  feelings  to  leave  the  house.  I  went  and  con 
versed  with  him  also ;  and,  if  I  recollect,  he  was  converted 
oef ore  he  left  the  house.  I  mention  these  cases  as  specimens 
of  the  type  of  the  work  in  that  place. 

I  have  mentioned  the  family  of  Mr.  P as  being  large. 

I  recollect  there  were  sixteen  members  of  that  family,  child 
ren  and  grandchildren,  hopefully  converted  ;  all  of  whom  I 
think,  united  with  the  church  before  I  left.  There  was  an 
other  family  in  the  town  by  the  name  of  M ;  which  was 

also  a  large  and  very  influential  family,  one  of  the  most  so 
of  any  in  town.  Most  of  the  people  lived  scattered  along  on 
a  street  which,  if  I  recollect  right,  was  about  five  miles  in 
length.  On  inquiry  I  found  there  was  not  a  religious  family 
on  that  whole  street,  and  not  a  single  house  in  which  family 
prayer  was  maintained. 

I  made  an  appointment  to  preach  in  a  school-house,  on 
that  street,  and  when  I  arrived  the  house  was  very  much 
crowded.  I  took  for  my  text  :  "  The  curse  of  the  Lord  is  in 
the  house  of  the  wicked."  The  Lord  gave  me  a  very  clear 
view  of  the  subject,  and  I  was  enabled  to  bring  out  the  truth 
effectively.  I  told  them  that  I  understood  that  there  was  not 
a  praying  family  in  that  whole  district.  The  fact  is,  the  town 
was  in  an  awful  state.  The  influence  of  Mr.  B ,  their  for 
mer  minister,  now  an  infidel,  had  borne  its  legitimate  fruit ; 
and  there  was  but  very  little  conviction  of  the  truth  and 
reality  of  religion  left,  among  the  impenitent  in  that  town. 
This  meeting  that  I  have  spoken  of,  resulted  in  the  convic 
tion  of  nearly  all  that  were  present,  I  believe,  at  the  meet 
ing.  The  revival  spread  in  that  neighborhood  ;  and  I 

recollect  that  in  this  M family,  there  were  seventeen 

hopeful  conversions. 

But  there  were  several  families  in  the  town  who  were 
quite  prominent  in  influence,  who  did  not  attend  the  meet 


MEMOIRS  OF  CHARLES  G. 

ings.  It  seemed  that  they  were  so  much  under  the  in 
fluence  of  Mr.  B ,  that  they  were  determined  not  to 

attend.  However,  in  the  midst  of  the  revival,  this  Mr. 

B died  a  horrible  death  ;  and  this  put  an  end  to  his 

opposition. 

I  have  said  there  were  several  families  in  town  that  did 
not  attend  meeting  ;  and  I  could  devise  no  means  by  which 

they  could  be  induced  to  attend.  The  Miss  S of  New 

Lebanon,  who  was  converted  at  Troy,  heard  that  these 
families  did  not  attend,  and  came  up  to  Stephentown  ;  and 
as  her  father  was  a  man  very  well  known  and  very  much 
respected,  she  was  received  with  respect  and  deference  in 
any  family  that  she  wished  to  visit  She  went  and  called 
on  one  of  these  families.  I  believe  she  was  acquainted  with 
their  daughters,  and  induced  them  to  accompany  her  to 
meeting.  They  soon  became  so  interested  that  they  needed 
no  influence  to  persuade  them  to  attend.  She  then  went  to 
another,  with  the  same  result,  and  to  another  ;  and  finally, 
I  believe,  secured  the  attendance  of  all  those  families  that 
had  stayed  away.  These  families  were  nearly  or  quite  aD 
converted  before  I  left  the  town.  Indeed  nearly  all  the 
jrincipal  inhabitants  of  the  town  were  gathered  into  the 
church,  and  the  town  was  morally  renovated.  I  have 
never  been  there  since  that  time,  which  was  in  the  fall  of 
1827.  But  I  have  often  heard  from  there,  and  the  revival 
produced  permanent  results.  The  converts  turned  out  to 
be  sound  ;  and  the  church  has  maintained  a  good  degree  of 
spiritual  vigor. 

As  elsewhere,  the  striking  characteristics  of  this  revival, 
were*  a  mighty  spirit  of  prevailing  prayer ;  overwhelming 
conviction  of  sin ;  sudden  and  powerful  conversions  to 
Christ ;  great  love  and  abounding  joy  of  the  converts,  and 
their  great  earnestness,  activity,  and  usefulness  in  their 
prayeis  and  labors  for  others.  This  revival  occurred  in  the 
town  adjoining  New  Lebanon,  and  immediately  after  the 
convention.  The  opposition  had,  at  that  convention,  received 


STSPHBJTTOWN.  833 

tts  death-blow.  I  have  seldom  labored  in  a  revival  with 
greater  comfort  to  myself,  or  with  less  opposition,  than  in 
Stephentown.  At  first  the  people  chafed  a  little  .mder  the 
preaching,  bnt  with  such  power  was  it  set  home  by  the 
iUly  Spirit,  that  I  soon  heard  no  more  complaint 


CHAPTER  XVIIL 

UKTIVALS   AT   WILMINGTON   AND   AT   PHILADELPHIA. 

WHILE  I  was  laboring  at  New  Lebanon,  the  preceding 
summer,  Rev.  Mr.  Gilbert  of  Wilmington,  Dela 
ware,  whose  father  resided  in  New  Lebanon,  came  there  on 
a  visit.  Mr.  Gilbert  was  very  old-school  in  his  theological 
views,  but  a  good  and  earnest  man.  His  love  of  souls  over 
ruled  all  difficulty  on  nice  questions  of  theological  difference, 
between  him  and  myself.  He  heard  me  preach  in  New 
Lebanon,  and  saw  the  results  ;  and  he  was  ^ery  earnest  that 
J  should  come  and  aid  him  in  Wilmington. 

As  soon  as  I  could  see  my  way  clear  to  leave  Step  entown, 
therefore,  I  went  to  Wilmington,  and  engaged  ui  labors  with 
Mr,  Gilbert.  I  soon  found  that  his  teaching  had  placed  the 
church  in  a  position  that  rendered  it  impossible  to  promote 
A  revival  among  them,  till  their  views  could  be  corrected. 
They  seemed  to  be  afraid  to  make  any  effort,  lest  they  should 
take  the  work  out  of  the  hands  of  God.  They  had  the  old 
est  of  the  old-school  views  of  doctrine ;  and  consequently 
their  theory  was  that  God  would  convert  sinners  in  his  own 
time  ;  and  that  therefore  to  urge  them  to  immediate  repent 
ance,  and  in  short  to  attempt  to  promote  a  revival,  was  to  at 
tempt  to  make  men  Christians  by  human  agency,  and  human 
strength,  and  thus  to  dishonor  God  by  taking  the  work  out 
of  his  hands.  I  observed  also,  that  in  their  prayers  there  was 
no  urgency  for  an  immediate  outpouring  of  the  Spirit,  and 
that  this  was  all  in  accordance  with  the  views  in  which  they 
had  been  educated. 

It  was  plain  that  nothing  could  be  done,  unless  Mr.  Gil 
bert's  views  could  be  changed  upon  this  subject.     I  there- 


REVIVAL  AT  WILMINGTON.  256 

fore  spent  hours  each  day  in  conversing  with  him  on  his 
peculiar  views.  We  talked  the  subject  all  over  in  a  brotherly 
manner  ;  and  after  laboring  with  him  in  this  way  for  two 
3r  three  weeks,  I  saw  that  his  mind  was  prepared  to  have  my 
own  views  brought  before  his  people.  The  next  Sabbath,  I 
took  for  my  text  :  "  Make  to  yourselves  a  new  heart  and  a  new 
spirit ;  for  why  will  ye  die  ?  "  I  went  thoroughly  into  the 
subject  of  the  sinner's  responsibility ;  and  showed  what  a 
new  heart  is  not,  and  what  it  is.  I  preached  about  two 
hours  ;  and  did  not  sit  down  till  I  had  gone  as  thoroughly 
over  the  whole  subject,  as  very  rapid  speaking  would  enable 
me  to  do,  in  that  length  of  time. 

The  congregation  became  intensely  interested,  and  great 
numbers  rose  and  stood  on  their  feet,  in  every  part  of  the 
house.  The  house  was  completely  filled,  and  there  were 
strange  looks  in  the  assembly.  Some  looked  distressed  and 
offended,  others  intensely  interested.  Not  unfrequently, 
when  I  brought  out  strongly  the  contrast  between  my  own 
views,  and  the  views  in  which  they  had  been  instructed, 
some  laughed,  some  wept,  some  were  manifestly  angry ;  but 
I  do  not  recollect  that  any  one  left  the  house.  It  was  a 
strange  excitement. 

In  the  meantime,  Mr.  Gilbert  moved  himself  from  one 
end  of  the  sofa  to  the  other,  in  the  pulpit  behind  me.  I 
could  hear  him  breathe  and  sigh,  and  could  not  help  observ 
ing  that  he  was  himself  in  the  greatest  anxiety.  However,  I 
knew  I  had  him,  in  his  convictions,  fast ;  but  whether  he 
would  make  up  his  mind  to  withstand  what  would  be  said  by 
his  people,  I  did  not  know.  But  I  was  preaching  to  please 
the  Lord,  and  not  man.  I  thought  that  it  might  be  the  last 
time  I  should  ever  preach  there  ;  but  purposed,  at  all  events, 
to  tell  them  the  truth,  and  the  whole  truth,  on  that  subject, 
whatever  the  result  might  be. 

I  endeavored  to  show  that  if  man  were  as  helpless  as 
their  views  represented  him  to  be,  he  was  not  to  blame  for 
his  sins.  If  he  had  lost  in  Adam  all  power  of  obedience,  so 


#56  MEM01KS   OF   GHAKLES   G.    FI1HOJT. 

that  obedience  had  become  impossible  to  him,  and  tkat  noJ 
by  hie  own  act  or  consent,  but  by  the  act.  of  Adam,  it  was 
mere  nonsense  to  say  that  he  could  be  blamed  for  what  he 
could  not  help.  I  had  endeavored  also  to  show  that,  in  that 
case,  the  atonement  was  no  grace,  but  really  a  debt  due  to  man 
kind,  on  the  part  of  God,  for  having  placed  them  in  a  con 
dition  so  deplorable  and  so  unfortunate.  Indeed,  the  Lord 
helped  me  to  show  up,  I  think,  with  irresistible  clearness  the 
peculiar  dogmas  of  old-schoolism  and  their  inevitable  results. 

When  I  was  through,  I  did  not  call  upon  Mr.  Gilbert  to 
pray,  for  I  dared  not ;  but  prayed  myself  tnat  the  I^ord 
would  set  home  the  word,  make  it  understood,  and  give  a 
candid  mind  to  weigh  what  had  been  said,  and  to  receive 
the  truth,  and  to  reject  what  might  be  erroneous.  I  then 
dismissed  the  assembly,  and  went  down  the  pulpit  stairs, 
Mr.  Gilbert  following  me.  The  congregation  withdrew  very 
slowly,  and  many  seemed  to  be  standing  and  waiting  foi 
something,  in  almost  every  part  of  the  house.  The  aisles 
were  cleared  pretty  nearly  ;  ana  the  rest  of  the  congregation 
seemed  to  remain  in  a  waiting  position,  as  if  they  supposed 
they  should  hear  from  Mr.  Gilbert,  upon  what  had  I  seen  said. 
Mrs.  Gilbert,  however,  went  immediately  out. 

As  I  came  down  the  pulpit  stairs,  I  observed  ir.7o  ladies 
sitting  on  the  left  hand  of  the  aisle  through  which  we  must 
pass,  to  whom  I  had  been  introduced,  and  who,  I  knew, 
were  particular  friends  and  supporters  of  Mr.  Gilbert.  I 
saw  that  they  looked  partly  grieved,  and  partly  offended, 
and  greatly  astonished.  The  first  we  reached,  who  was  near 
the  pulpit  stairs,  took  hold  of  Mr.  Gilbert  as  he  was  follow 
ing  behind  me,  and  said  to  him,  "  Mr.  Gilbert,  what  do  you 
think  of  that?"  She  spoke  in  a  loud  whisper.  He  replied 
in  the  same  manner,  "It  is  worth  five  hundred  dollars." 
That  greatly  gratified  me,  and  affected  me  very  much.  She 
replied,  "Then  you  have  never  preached  the  Gospel." 
"  Well,"  said  he,  "I  am  sorry  to  say  I  never  have."  We 
passed  along,  and  then  the  other  lady  said  to  him  aboa*  the 


REVIVAL  AT  WILMINGTON.  237 

aarne  things,  and  received  a  similar  reply.  That  was 
enough  for  me  ;  I  made  rny  way  to  the  door  and  went  out, 
Those  that  had  gone  out  were  standing,  many  of  them,  in 
front  of  the  house,  discussing  vehemently  the  things  that 
had  been  said.  As  I  passed  along  the  streets  going  to  Mr. 
Gilbert's,  where  I  lodged,  I  found  the  streets  full  of  excite 
ment  and  discussion.  The  people  wer  comparing  views ; 
and  from  the  few  words  that  escaped  liym  those  that  did 
dot  observe  me  as  I  passed  along,  I  saw  that  the  impression 
was  decidedly  in  favor  of  what  had  been  said. 

When  I  arrived  at  Mr.  Gilbert's,  his  wife  accosted  me  as 
soon  as  I  entered,  by  saying,  "Mr.  Finney,  how  dared  you 
preach  any  such  thing  in  our  pulpit?"  I  replied,  "Mrs. 
Gilbert,  I  did  not  dare  to  preach  anything  else  ;  it  is  the 
truth  of  God."  She  replied,  •'<  Well,  it  is  true  that  God 
was  in  justice  bound  to  make  an  atonement  for  mankind.  I 
have  always  felt  it,  though  I  never  dared  say  it.  I  believed 
that  if  the  doctrine  preached  by  Mr.  Gilbert  was  true,  God 
was  under  obligation,  as  a  matter  of  justice,  to  make  an 
atonement,  and  to  save  me  from  those  circumstances  in 
which  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  help  myself,  and  from  a 
condemnation  which  I  did  not  deserve." 

Just  at  this  moment  Mr.  Gilbert  entered.  "  There," 
said  I,  "  Brother  Gilbert,  you  see  the  results  of  your  preach 
ing,  here  in  your  own  family  ; "  and  then  repeated  to  him 
what  his  wife  had  just  said.  He  replied,  *fc  I  have  some 
times  thought  that  my  wife  was  one  of  the  most  pious  women 
that  I  ever  knew ;  and  at  other  times  I  have  thought  that 
he  had  no  religion  at  all."  "Why!"  I  exclaimad,  "she 
aas  always  thought  that  God  owed  her,  as  a  matt/  r  of  jus 
tice,  thfe,  salvati'  n  provided  in  Christ ;  how  can  she  be  a 
Christian  ? "  T£u&  was  all  said,  by  each  of  us,  with  the 
greatest  solemnity  and  earnestness.  Upon  my  making  the 
last  remark,  she  got  up  and  left  the  room.  The  house  was 
yery  solemn  ;  and  for  two  days,  I  believe,  I  did  not  s*»e  her. 
She  then  came  out  clear,  not  onlv  in  the  truth  but  in  the 


238  MEMOIRS   OF   CHAKLES   <*.    PUTNEY. 

state  of  her  own  mind ;  having  passed  through  a  complete 
revolution  of  views  and  experience. 

From  this  point  the  work  went  forward.  The  truth  was 
worked  out  admirably  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  Mr.  Gilbert's 
views  became  greatly  changed  ;  and  also  his  style  of  preach 
ing,  and  manner  of  presenting  the  Gospel.  So  far  as  I  know, 
antil  the  day  of  his  death,  his  views  remained  corrected, 
new  school  as  opposed  to  the  old  school  views  which  he 
had  before  maintained. 

The  effect  of  this  sermon  upon  many  of  Mr.  Gilbert's 
church  members  was  very  peculiar.  I  have  spoken  of  the 
lady  who  asked  him  what  he  thought  of  it.  She  afterwards 
told  me  that  she  was  so  offended,  to  think  that  all  her  views 
of  religion  were  so  overthrown,  that  she  promised  herself 
she  never  would  pray  again.  She  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
so  far  justifying  herself  because  of  her  sinful  nature,  and 
had  taken,  in  her  own  mind,  such  a  position  as  Mrs.  Gilbert 
had  held,  that  my  preaching  on  that  subject  had  completely 
subverted  her  views,  her  religion,  and  alL  She  remained  in 
this  state  of  rebellion,  if  I  recollect  right,  for  some  six  weeks, 
before  she  would  pray  again.  She  then  broke  down,  and 
became  thoroughly  change*3  °n  her  views  and  religious  experi 
ence.  And  this,  I  believe,  fras  the  case  with  a  large  number 
of  that  church. 

In  the  meantime  I  had  been  induced  to  go  up  and  preach 
for  Mr.  Patterson,  at  Philadelphia,  twice  each  week.  1 
went  up  on  the  steamboat  and  preached  in  the  evening,  and 
returned  the  next  day  and  preached  at  Wilmington  ;  thus 
alternating  my  evening  services  between  Wilmington  and 
Philadelphia.  The  distance  was  about  forty  miles.  The 
word  took  so  much  effect  in  Philadelphia  as  to  convince  me 
that  it  was  my  duty  to  leave  Mr.  Gilbert  to  carry  on  the 
work  in  Wilmington,  while  J  £ave  my  whole  tim*  fco  labor 
in  Philadelphia. 

Rev.  James  Patterson,  with  whom  I  first  labored  in  Phil 
adelphia,  held  the  viewg  of  theology  then  held  at  Princeton 


ttEVIVAL  AT  PHILADELPHIA  331 

since  known  as  the  theology  of  the  old  school  Presbyterians 
But  he  was  a  godly  man,  and  cared  a  great  deal  more  for 
the  salvation  of  souls,  than  for  nice  questions  about  ability 
and  inability,  or  any  of  those  points  of  doctrine  upon  which 
the  old  and  new  school  Presbyterians  differ.  His  wife  held 
the  New  England  views  of  theology  ;  that  is,  she  believed  in 
a  general,  as  opposed  to  a  restricted  atonement,  and  agreed 
with  what  was  called  New  England  orthodoxy,  as  distin 
guished  from  Princeton  orthodoxy. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  at  this  time  I  belonged  to  the 
Presbyterian  church  myself.  I  had  been  licensed  and 
ordained  by  a  presbytery,  composed  mostly  of  men  educated 
at  Princeton.  I  havp  also  said  that  when  I  was  licensed  to 
preach  the  gospel,  I  was  asked  whether  I  received  the  Pres 
byterian  confession  of  faith,  as  containing  the  substance  of 
Christian  doctrine.  J  replied  that  I  did,  so  far  as  I  under 
stood  it.  But  not  expecting  to  be  asked  any  such  question, 
I  had  never  examined  ;t  with  any  attention,  and  I  think  J 
had  never  read  it  through.  But  when  I  came  to  read  the 
confession  of  faith  and  ponder  it,  I  saw  that  although  I 
could  receive  it,  as  I  PQW  know  multitudes  of  Presbyterians 
do,  as  containing  the  substance  of  Christian  doctrine,  yet 
there  were  several  prints  upon  which  I  could  not  put  the 
same  construction  that  was  put  on  them  at  Princeton  ;  and 
I  accordingly,  every  yhere,  gave  the  people  to  understand 
that  I  did  not  accept  that  construction  ;  or  if  that  was 
the  true  construction,  then  I  entirely  differed  from  the 
confession  of  faith.  I  suppose  that  Mr.  Patterson  under 
stood  this  before  i  went  to  labor  with  him  ;  as  when  I  took 
that  course  in  b;e  pulpit  he  expressed  no  surprise.  Indeed, 
he  did  not  at  all  object  to  it. 

The  revivil  took  such  hold  in  his  congregation  as  greatly 
to  interest  him  ;  and  as  he  saw  that  God  was  blessing  the 
word  as  I  presented  it,  he  stood  firmly  by  me,  und  never,  in 
any  case,  objected  to  anything  that  I  advanced.  Sometimes 
when  we  returned  from  meeting,  Mrs,  Patterson  would  smil* 


MEMOIRS  OF   CHARLES   Q.    FINITE  I 

ingly    remark,    "Now  you  see  Mr.   Patterson,   that  Mr 
Finney  does  not  agree  with  you  on  those  points  upon  which 
we  have  so  often  conversed."    He  would  always,  in  the  great 
ness  of  his  Christian  faith  and  love,   reply,    "Well,   the 
Lord  blesses  it." 

The  interest  became  so  great  that  our  congregations  were 
packed  at  every  meeting.  One  day  Mr.  Patterson  said  to 
me,  "  Brother  Finney,  if  the  Presbyterian  ministers  in  this 
city  find  out  your  views,  and  what  you  are  preaching  to  the 
people,  they  will  hunt  yon  out  of  the  city  as  they  would  a 
wolf."  I  replied,  "I  cannot  help  it  I  can  preach  no 
other  doctrine  ;  and  if  they  must  drive  me  out  of  the  city, 
let  them  do  it,  and  take  the  responsibility.  But  I  do  not 
believe  that  they  can  get  me  out" 

However,  the  ministers  did  not  take  the  course  that  he 
predicted,  by  any  means  ;  but  nearly  all  received  me  to  their 
pulpits.  When  they  learned  what  was  going  on  at  Mr. 
Patterson's  church  and  that  many  of  their  own  church 
members  were  greatly  interested,  they  invited  me  to  preach 
for  them  ;  and  if  I  recollect  right,  I  preached  in  all  of  the 
Presbyterian  churches,  except  that  of  Arch  street. 

Philadelphia  was  at  that  time  a  unit,  almost,  in  regard 
to  the  views  of  theology  held  at  Princeton.  Dr.  Skinner 
held,  to  some  extent,  what  have  since  been  known  as  new 
school  views  ;  and  differed  enough  from  the  tone  of  theology 
round  about  him,  to  be  suspected  as  not  altogether  sound, 
according  to  the  prevailing  orthodoxy.  I  have  ever  regarded 
it  as  a  most  remarkable  thing,  that,  so  far  as  I  know,  my 
doctrinal  views  did  not  prove  a  stumbling-block  in  that  city  ; 
nor  was  my  orthodoxy  openly  called  in  question,  by  any  of  the 
ministers  or  churches.  I  preached  in  the  Dutch  church  to 
Dr.  Livingston's  congregation ;  and  I  found  that  he  sympa 
thized  with  my  views,  and  encouraged  me,  with  all  his 
influence,  to  go  on  and  preach  the  preaching  that  tho  Lord 
dad  bidden  me.  I  did  not  hesitate  everywhere,  and  on  al! 


KEVIVAL   AT   PHILADELPHIA.  24J 

xxjasiong,  to  present  my  own  views  of  theology,  and  those 
srhich  I  had  everywhere  presented  to  the  churches. 

Mr.  Patterson  was  himself,  I  believe,  greatly  surprised 
that  I  met  no  open  opposition  from  the  ministers  or  churches, 
m  account  of  my  theological  views.  Indeed,  I  did  not  pre 
sent  them  at  all  in  a  controversial  way ;  but  simply  employed 
them  in  my  instructions  to  saints  and  sinners,  in  a  way  so 
aatural  as  not,  perhaps,  to  excite  very  much  attention,  ex 
cept  with  discriminating  theologians.  But  many  things 
that  I  said  were  new  to  the  people.  For  example,  one  night 
I  preached  on  this  text  :  "  There  is  one  God,  and  one  Medi 
ator  between  God  and  men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus  ;  who  gave 
himself  a  ransom  for  all,  to  be  testified  in  due  time."  This 
was  a  sermon  on  the  atonement,  in  which  I  took  the  view 
that  I  have  always  held,  of  its  nature  and  of  its  universality  ; 
and  stated,  as  strongly  as  I  could,  those  points  of  difference 
between  my  own  views  and  those  that  were  held  by  limited- 
atonement  theologians.  This  sermon  attracted  so  much  at 
tention,  and  excited  so  much  interest,  that  I  was  urged  to 
preach  on  the  same  subject  in  other  churcnes.  The  more  I 
preached  upon  it,  the  more  desirous  people  were  to  hear  ; 
and  the  excitement  became  so  general,  that  I  preached  on 
that  subject  seven  different  evenings  in  succession,  in  as 
many  different  churches. 

It  would  seem  that  the  people  had  heard  much  said 
against  what  wa*  called  HopMnsianism  ;  the  two  great  points 
of  which  were  understood  to  be,  that  man  ought  to  be  will 
ing  to  be  damned  for  the  glory  of  God,  and  that  God  was 
the  author  of  sin.  In  preaching,  I  sometimes  noticed  these 
points,  and  took  occasion  to  denounce  Hopkinsianism  ;  and 
said  that  they  appeared  to  have  too  much  of  it  in  Philadel 
phia  ;  that  their  great  neglect  in  attending  to  the  salvation 
of  their  souls  looked  very  much  as  if  they  were  willing 
to  be  damned  ;  and  that  they  must  hold  that  God  was  the 
author  of  sin,  for  they  maintained  that  their  nature  was  sin- 
fol.  This  I  turned  over  and  over,  and  these  two  points  ' 
11 


242  MBMU1BS   OP   CHARLES   G. 

dwelt  upon.  I  heard  again  and  again  that  the  people  said 
"  Well,  he  is  no  Hopkinsian."  Indeed,  I  felt  it  my  duty  tc 
expose  all  the  hiding-places  of  sinners,  and  to  hunt  them 
out  from  under  those  peculiar  views  of  orthodoxy,  in  which 
I  found  them  entrenched. 

The  revival  spread,  and  took  a  powerful  hold.  All  our 
meetings  for  preaching,  for  prayer,  and  for  inquiry,  were 
crowded.  There  were  a  great  many  more  inquirers  than  we 
uould  well  attend  to.  It  was  late  in  the  fall  when  I  took 
my  lodgings  in  Philadelphia,  and  I  continued  to  labor  there 
without  any  intermission  until  the  following  August,  1828. 

As  in  other  places,  there  were  some  cases  of  very  bitter 
opposition  on  the  part  of  individuals.  In  one  case,  a  man 
whose  wife  was  very  deeply  convicted,  was  so  enraged  that 
he  came  in,  and  took  his  wife  out  of  meeting  by  force. 
Another  case  I  recollect  as  a  very  striking  one,  of  a  German 
whose  name  I  cannot  now  recall.  He  was  a  tobacconist. 
He  had  a  very  amiable  and  intelligent  wife  ;  and  was  him 
self,  as  I  afterwards  found,  when  I  became  acquainted  with 
him,  an  intelligent  man.  He  was,  however,  a  sceptic,  and 
had  no  confidence  in  religion  at  all.  His  wife,  however, 
came  to  our  meetings,  and  became  very  much  concerned 
about  her  soul ;  and  after  a  severe  struggle  of  many  days, 
she  was  thoroughly  converted.  As  she  attended  meetings 
frequently,  and  became  very  much  interested,  it  soon 
attracted  the  attention  of  her  husband,  and  he  began  to 
oppose  her  being  a  Christian.  He  had,  as  I  learned,  a 
hasty  temper,  and  was  a  man  of  athletic  frame,  and  of  great 
resolution  and  fixedness  of  purpose.  As  his  wife  became 
more  and  more  interested,  his  opposition  increased,  till 
finally  he  forbade  her  attending  meetings  any  more. 

She  then  called  to  see  me,  and  asked  my  advice  with 
wgard  to  what  course  she  should  take.  I  told  her  that  her 
first  obligation  was  to  God  ;  that  she  was  undoubtedly  uudei 
obligation  to  obey  his  commands,  even  if  they  conflicted 
with  the  commands  of  her  husband  :  and  that,  while  T 


REVIVAL    Al    PHILADELPHIA.  $43 

advised  her  to  avoid  giving  him  offence  if  she  could,  *nd 
do  her  duty  to  G-od,  still  in  no  case  to  omit  what  she 
regarded  as  her  duty  to  God,  for  the  sake  of  complying  with 
his  wishes.  I  told  her  that,  as  he_wjisjan  in.fidel,  his  opinions 
on  religious  subjects  were  not  to  be  respected,  and  that  she 
could  not  safely  follow  his  advice.  She  was  well  aware  of 
this.  He  was  a  man  that  paid  no  attention  to  religion  at 
all,  except  to  oppose  it 

In  accordance  with  my  advice,  she  attended  the  meetings 
as  she  had  opportunity,  and  received  instructions  ;  and  she 
soon  came  into  the  liberty  of  the  Gospel,  had  great  faith  and 
peace  of  mind,  and  enjoyed  much  of  the  presence  of  God. 
This  highly  displeased  her  husband  ;  and  he  finally  went  s« 
far  as  to  threaten  her  life,  if  she  went  to  meeting  again.  She 
had  so  frequently  seen  him  angry,  that  she  had  no  confidence 
that  he  would  fulfil  his  threat.  She  told  him  calmly  that 
whatever  it  cost  her,  her  mind  was  made  up  to  do  her  duty 
to  God  ;  that  she  felt  it  her  duty  to  avail  herself  of  the 
opportunity  to  get  the  instruction  she  needed  ;  and  that  she 
must  attend  those  meetings,  whenever  she  could  do  it  with 
out  neglecting  her  duty  to  her  family. 

One  Sabbath  evening,  when  he  found  she  was  going  to 
meeting,  he  renewed  his  threat  that  if  she  went  he  would 
take  her  life.  She  told  me  afterward  that  she  had  no  thought 
that  it  was  anything  but  a  vain  threat.  She  calmly  replied 
to  him  that  her  duty  was  plain  ;  that  there  was  no  reason 
why  she  should  remain  at  home  at  that  time,  but  simply  to 
comply  with  his  unreasonable  wishes ;  and  that  to  stay  at 
home,  under  such  circumstances,  would  be  entirely  incon 
sistent  with  her  duty  to  God  and  to  herself.  She  therefore 
went  to  meeting.  When  she  returned  from  meeting,  she 
found  him  in  a  great  rage.  As  soon  as  she  entered  the  dooi 
he  locked  it  after  her,  and  took  out  the  key,  and  then  drew  a 
dagger  and  swore  he  would  take  her  life.  She  ran  up  stairs 
He  caught  a  light  to  follow  her.  The  servant  girl  blew  out 
the  light  as  he  passed  by  her.  This  left  them  both  in  th* 


344  MEMOIRS  OF   CHARLES   G.    FINITE  Y. 

dark.  She  ran  up  and  through  the  rooms  in  the  second 
story,  found  her  way  down  into  the  kitchen,  and  then  to  the 
cellar.  He  could  not  follow  her  in  the  dark  ;  and  she  got  out 
of  the  cellar  window,  and  went  to  a  friend's  house  and  spent 
the  night. 

Taking  it  for  granted  that  he  would  be  ashamed  of  his 
rage  before  morning,  she  went  home  early,  and  entered  the 
house,  and  found  things  in  the  greatest  disorder.  He  had 
broken  some  of  the  furniture,  and  acted  like  a  man  distracted. 
He  again  locked  the  door,  as  soon  as  she  was  fairly  in  the 
house ;  and  drawing  a  dagger,  he  threw  himself  upon  his 
knees  and  held  up  his  hands,  and  took  the  most  horrible 
oath  that  he  would  there  take  her  life.  She  looked  at  him 
with  astonishment  and  fled.  She  ran  up  stairs,  but  it  was 
light,  and  he  followed  her.  She  ran  from  room  to  room,  till 
finally,  she  entered  the  last,  from  which  there  was  no  escape. 
She  turned  around  and  faced  him.  She  threw  herself  upon 
her  knees,  as  he  was  about  to  strike  her  with  his  dagger,  and 
lifted  up  her  hands  to  heaven,  and  cried  for  mercy  upon  her 
self  and  upon  nim.  At  this  point  God  arrested  him.  She 
said  he  looked  at  her  for  a  moment,  dropped  his  dagger,  and 
fell  upon  the  floor  and  cried  for  mercy  himself.  He  then 
and  there  broke  down,  confessed  his  sins  to  God  and  to  her  ; 
and  begged  God,  and  begged  her,  to  forgive  him. 

From  that  moment  he  was  a  wonderfully  changed  man. 
He  became  one  of  the  most  earnest  Christian  converts.  He 
was  greatly  attached  to  myself  ;  and  some  year  or  two  after 
this,  as  he  heard  that  I  was  to  come  to  Philadelphia,  in  a 
certair  steamboat,  he  was  the  first  man  in  Philadelphia  that 
met  and  greeted  me.  I  received  him  and  his  wife  into  the 
church,  before  I  left  Philadelphia,  and  baptized  their  chil 
dren.  I  have  not  seen  or  heard  from  them  for  many  years. 

But  while  there  were  individual  cases  of  singular  bitter 
ness  and  opposition  to  religion,  still  I  was  not  annoyed  oj 
hindered  by  anything  like  public  opposition.  The  ministers 
received  me  kindly  ;  and  in  no  instance  that  I  recollect*  did 


REVIVAL   AT   PHILADELPHIA.  246 

fchey  speak  publicly,  if  indeed  they  did  privately,  against 
fche  work  that  was  going  on. 

After  preaching  in  Mr.  Patterson's  church  for  several 
months  and,  more  or  less,  in  nearly  all  the  Presbyterian 
churches  in  the  city,  it  was  thought  best  that  I  should  take 
up  a  central  position,  and  preach  steadily  in  one  place.  In 
Race  street  there  was  a  large  German  church,  the  pastor  of 
which  was  a  Mr.  Helfenstein.  The  elders  of  the  congrega 
tion,  together  with  their  pastor,  requested  me  to  occupy 
their  pulpit.  Their  house  was  then,  I  think,  the  largest 
house  of  worship  in  the  city.  It  was  always  crowded  ;  and 
it  was  said,  it  seated  three  thousand  people,  when  the  house 
was  packed  and  the  aisles  were  filled.  There  I  preached 
statedly  for  many  months.  I  had  an  opportunity  to  preach 
to  a  great  many  Sabbath-school  teachers.  Indeed  it  was 
said  that  the  Sabbath-school  teachers  throughout  the  city 
generally  attended  my  ministry. 

About  midsummer  of  1829,  I  left  for  a  short  time,  and 
visited  my  wife's  parents  in  Oneida  county,  and  then  re 
turned  to  Philadelphia,  and  labored  there  until  about  mid 
winter.  I  do  not  recollect  exact  dates,  but  think  that  in  all, 
I  labored  in  Philadelphia  about  a  year  and  a  half.  In  all 
this  time  there  was  no  abatement  of  the  revival,  that  I  could 
see.  The  converts  became  numerous  in  every  part  of  the 
city  ;  but  I  never  had  any  knowledge,  nor  could  I  form  any 
estimate  of  their  exact  number.  I  never  had  labored  any 
where  where  I  was  received  more  cordially  ;  and  where 
Christians,  and  especially  converts,  appeared  better  than 
they  did  there.  There  was  no  jar  or  schism  among  them, 
that  I  ever  knew  of  ;  and  I  never  heard  of  any  disastrous 
influence  resulting  from  that  revival. 

There  were  a  great  many  interesting  facts  connected  with 
this  revival.  I  recollect  that  a  young  woman  who  was  the 
daughter  of  a  minister  of  the  old  school  stamp  attended  my 
ministry  at  Mr.  Patterson's  church,  and  became  awfully 
convicted.  Her  convictions  were  so  deep,  that  she  finalh 


246  MEMOIRS   OF  CHABLE8   G.    F1KKEY. 

fell  into  3,  most  distressing  despair.  She  told  me  she  had 
been  taught  from  her  childhood  by  her  father,  that  if  she 
was  one  of  the  elect,  she  would  be  converted  in  due  time ; 
and  that  until  she  was  converted,  and  her  nature  changed  by 
the  Spirit  of  God,  she  could  do  nothing  for  herself,  but  to 
read  her  Bible,  and  pray  for  a  new  heart. 

When  she  was  quite  young  she  had  been  greatly  convicted 
of  sin,  but  had  followed  her  father's  instruction,  had  read 
her  Bible,  and  prayed  for  a  new  heart,  and  thought  that 
was  all  that  was  required  of  her.  She  waited  to  be  con 
verted,  and  thus  for  evidence  that  she  was  one  of  the  elect. 
In  the  midst  of  her  great  struggle  of  soul  on  the  subject  of 
her  salvation,  something  had  come  up  relative  to  the  ques 
tion  of  marriage ;  and  she  promised  God  that  she  never 
would  give  her  hand  to  any  man  till  she  was  a  Christian. 
When  she  made  the  promise,  she  said  tkiat  she  expected  God 
would  very  soon  convert  her.  But  her  convictions  passed 
away.  She  was  not  converted  ;  and  still  that  promise  to 
God  was  upon  her  soul,  and  she  dared  not  break  it. 

When  she  was  about  eighteen  years  of  age,  a  young  man 
proposed  to  make  her  his  wife.  She  approved,  but  as  that 
vow  was  upon  her,  she  could  not  consent  to  be  married  until 
she  was  a  Christian.  She  said  they  greatly  loved  each  other, 
And  he  urged  her  to  be  married  without  delay.  But  with 
out  telling  him  her  real  reason,  she  kept  deferring  it  from 
time  to  time,  for  some  five  years,  if  I  recollect  right,  waiting 
for  God  to  convert  her.  Finally  in  riding  one  day,  the  young 
man  was  thrown  from  the  carriage,  and  instantly  killed, 
Th'js  aroused  the  enmity  of  her  heart  against  God.  She  ac 
cu/>ed  God  of  dealing  hardly  with  her.  She  said  that  she 
had  been  waiting  for  him  to  convert  her,  and  had  been 
faithful  to  her  promise,  not  to  get  married  until  she  was  con 
verted  ;  that  she  had  kept  her  lover  for  years  waiting  for 
her  to  get  ready  ;  and  now,  behold  !  God  had  cut  him  off, 
she  was  stiD  unconverted. 

She  had  learned  that  the  young  man  wa«  a  Univerealist 


REVIVAL   Al    PHILADELPHIA,  24? 

and  now  she  was  greatly  interested  to  believe  that  Universal- 
ism  was  true,  and  would  not  believe  that  God  had  sent  him 
to  hell ;  and  if  he  had  sent  him  to  hell,  she  could  not  be  re 
conciled  to  it  at  all.  Thus  she  had  been  warring  with  God, 
for  a  considerable  time,  before  she  came  to  our  meetings, 
supposing  that  the  blame  of  her  not  being  converted,  was? 
chargeable  upon  God,  and  not  upon  herself. 

When  she  heard  my  preaching,  and  found  that  all  hei 
refuges  of  lies  were  torn  away,  and  saw  that  she  should  have 
given  her  heart  to  God  long  before,  and  all  would  have  been 
well ;  she  saw  that  she  herself  had  been  entirely  to  blame, 
and  that  the  instructions  of  her  father  on  all  those  points 
had  been  entirely  wrong ;  and  remembering,  as  she  did,  how 
she  had  blamed  God,  and  what  a  blasphemous  attitude  she 
had  maintained  before  him,  she  very  naturally  despaired  of 
mercy.  I  reasoned  with  her,  and  tried  to  show  her  the 
long-suffering  of  God,  and  encouraged  her  to  hope,  to  be 
lieve,  and  to  lay  hold  upon  eternal  life  But  her  sense  of  sic 
was  so  great,  that  she  seemed  unable  to  grasp  the  promise,  and 
sunk  down  deeper  and  deeper  into  despair,  from  day  to  day. 

After  laboring  with  her  a  great  deal,  I  became  greatly 
distressed  about  her  case.  At  the  close  of  every  meeting  she 
would  follow  me  home,  with  her  despairing  complaints,  and 
would  exhaust  me  by  appeals  to  my  sympathy  and  Christian 
compassion  for  her  soul.  After  this  state  of  things  had 
continued  for  many  weeks,  one  morning  she  called  upon  me 
in  company  with  an  aunt  of  hers,  who  had  become  greatly  con 
cerned  about  her,  and  who  thought  her  on  the  very  verge  of 
a  desperate  insanity.  I  was  myself  of  the  opinion  that  it 
would  result  in  that,  if  she  would  not  believe.  Catharine — 
for  that  was  her  name — came  into  my  room  in  her  usually 
despairing  way  ;  but  with  a  look  of  wildness  in  her  face  that 
indicated  a  state  of  mind  that  was  unendurable  ;  and  at  the 
moment,  I  think  it  was  the  Spirit  of  God  that  suggested  to 
my  mind,  to  take  an  entirely  different  course  with  her  from 
what  I  had  ever  taken. 


248  MEMOIRS  OF   CHARLES   G.    FINNS  Y. 

I  said  to  her,  "  Catharine,  you  profess  to  believe  thai 
God  is  good."  "0  yes!"  she  said,  "I  believe  that/ 
"  Well,  you  have  often  told  me  that  his  goodness  forbids 
him  to  have  mercy  on  you — that  your  sins  have  been  so 
great  that  it  would  be  a  dishonor  to  him  to  forgive  you  and 
save  you.  You  have  often  confessed  to  me  that  you  believed 
that  God  would  forgive  you  if  he  wisely  could ;  but  that 
your  forgiveness  would  be  an  injury  to  him,  to  his  govern 
ment,  and  to  his  universe,  and  therefore  he  cannot  forgive 
you."  "Yes,"  she  said,  "I  believe  that."  I  replied, 
"  Then  your  difficulty  is  that  you  want  God  to  sin,  to  act 
unwisely  and  injure  himself  and  the  universe  for  the  sake  of 
saving  you."  She  opened  and  set  her  large  blue  eyes  upon 
me,  and  looked  partly  surprised  and  partly  indignant.  But 
I  proceeded  :  "  Yes  !  you  are  in  great  trouble  and  anguish 
of  mind,  because  God  will  not  do  wrong,  because  he  will 
persist  in  being  good,  whatever  may  Become  of  you.  You 
go  about  in  the  greatest  distress  of  mind,  because  God  will  not 
be  persuaded  to  violate  his  own  sense  of  propriety  and  duty, 
and  save  you  to  his  own  injury,  and  that  of  the  entire  uni 
verse.  You  think  yourself  of  more  consequence  than  Gcd 
and  all  the  universe  ;  and  cannot  be  happy  unless  God 
makes  himself  and  everybody  else  unhappy,  in  making  you 
happy." 

I  pressed  this  upon  her.  She  looked  with  the  utmost 
astonishment  at  me,  and  after  a  few  moments  she  submitted. 
She  seemed  to  be  almost  instantly  subdued,  like  a  little 
child.  She  said,  "I  accept  it.  Let  God  send  me  to  hell, 
if  he  thinks  that  is  the  best  thing  to  be  done.  I  do  not 
want  him  to  save  me  at  his  own  expense,  and  at  the  expense 
f  the  universe.  Let  him  do  what  seemeth  him  good."  I 
got  up  instantly  and  left  the  room ;  and  to  get.  entirely  awaj 
from  her,  I  went  out  and  got  into  a  carriage  and  rode 
away.  When  I  returned  she  had  gone  of  course  ;  but  in  the 
afternoon  she  and  her  aunt  returned,  to  declare  what  God 
had  done  for  her  soul.  She  was  filled  with  joy  and  peace 


REVIVAL  AT  PHILADELPHIA.  249 

and  became  one  of  the  most  submissive,  humble,  beautiful 
converts  that  I  nave  known. 

Another  young  woman,  I  recollect,  a  very  beautiful  girl, 
perhaps  twenty  years  old,  called  to  see  me  under  great  con 
viction  of  sin.  I  asked  her,  among  other  things,  if  she  was 
convinced  that  she  had  been  so  wicked,  that  God  might  in 
justice  send  her  to  hell.  She  replied  in  the  strongest  lan 
guage,  "  Yes  !  I  deserve  a  thousand  hells."  She  was  gayly, 
and  I  think,  richly  dressed.  I  had  a  very  thorough  conver 
sation  with  her,  and  she  broke  down  in  heart,  and  gave  her 
self  to  Christ.  She  was  a  very  humble,  broken-hearted 
convert  I  learned  that  she  went  home  and  gathered  up  a 
great  many  of  her  artificial  flowers  and  ornaments,  with 
which  she  had  decked  herself,  and  of  which  she  was  very 
vain,  and  passed  through  the  room  with  then*  in  her  hands. 
They  asked  her  what  she  was  going  to  do  w)  fch  them.  She 
said  she  was  going  to  burn  them  up.  Said  she,  "  I  will 
never  wear  them  again."  "Well,"  they  said  to  her,  "if 
you  will  not  wear  them,  you  can  sell  them  ;  don't  burn 
them."  But  she  said,  "  If  I  sell  them,  somebody  else  will  be 
as  vain  of  them,  as  I  have  been  myself ;  I  will  burn  them 
up."  And  she  actually  put  them  into  the  fire. 

A  few  days  after  this  she  called  on  me,  and  said  that  she 
had,  in  passing  through  the  market,  I  tiunk  that  morning, 
observed  a  very  richly  dressed  lady,  in  the  market.  Her 
compassions  were  so  stirred,  that  she  went  up  to  her  and 
asked  if  she  might  speak  to  her.  The  lady  replied  that  she 
might  She  said  to  her,  "  My  dear  madam,  are  you  not 
proud  of  your  dress,  and  are  you  not  vain,  and  neglecting 
the  salvation  of  your  soul  ?"  She  said  that  she  herself  burst 
into  tears  as  she  said  it,  and  told  the  lady  a  little  of  her  own 
experience,  how  she  had  been  attached  to  dress,  and  how  it 
nad  well-nigh  ruined  her  soul.  "Now,"  said  she,  "you  are 
a  beautiful  lady,  and  are  finely  dressed ;  are  you  not  in  the 
same  state  of  mind  that  I  was  in  myself  ?  "  She  said  the 
lady  wept,  and  confessed  that  that  had  been  her  snare  ;  and 


35C  MEMOIRS  OP   CHARLES   Q.    FIKNE*. 

ghe  was  afraid  that  her  love  of  dress  and  society  would  rum 
her  soul.  She  confessed  that  «he  had  been  neglecting  the 
salvation  of  her  soul,  because  she  did  not  know  how  to  break 
away  from  the  circle  in  which  she  moved.  The  young  ladj 
wanted  to  know  if  I  thought  she  had  done  wrong,  in  what 
she  said  to  the  lady.  I  told  her,  no  !  that  I  wished  all 
Christians  were  as  faithful  as  she  ;  and  that  I  hoped  she 
would  never  cease  to  warn  her  own  sex,  against  that  which 
had  so  nearly  ruined  her  own  soul. 

In  the  spring  of  1829,  when  the  Delaware  was  high, 
the  lumbermen  came  down  with  their  rafts  from  the  region 
of  the  high  land,  where  they  had  been  getting  the  lumber 
out,  during  the  winter.  At  that  time  there  was  a  large 
tract  of  country,  along  the  northern  region  of  Pennsylvania, 
called  by  many  "  the  lumber  region,"  that  extended  up 
toward  the  head  waters  of  the  Delaware  river.  Many  per 
sons  were  engaged  in  getting  out  lumber  there,  summer  and 
winter.  Much  of  this  lumber  was  floated  down  in  the  spring 
of  the  year,  when  the  water  was  high,  to  Philadelphia. 
They  would  get  out  their  lumber  when  the  river  was  low  ; 
and  when  the  snow  went  off,  and  the  spring  rains  came  on, 
they  would  throw  it  into  the  river  and  float  it  down  to  where 
they  could  build  rafts,  or  otherwise  embark  it  for  the  Phila 
delphia  market. 

Many  of  the  lumbermen  were  raising  families  in  that 
region,  and  there  was  a  large  tract  of  country  there  unset 
tled  and  unoccupied,  except  by  these  lumbermen.  They  had 
QO  schcv.  Is,  and  at  that  time,  had  no  churches  or  religious 
privileges  at  all.  I  knew  a  minister  who  told  me  he  was 
born  in  that  lumber  region  ;  and  that  when  he  was  twenty 
years  old,  he  had  never  attended  a  religious  meeting  and 
did  not  know  his  alphabet. 

These  men  that  came  down  with  lumber,  attended  our 
meetings,  and  quite  a  number  of  them  were  hopefully  con 
verted.  They  went  back  into  the  wilderness,  and  began 
to  pray  for  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  to  tell  the 


REVIVAL  AT   PHILADELPHIA.  251 

people  around  them  what  they  had  seen  in  Philadelphia, 
and  to  exhort  them  to  attend  to  their  salvation.  Their 
efforts  were  immediately  blessed,  and  the  revival  began  to 
take  hold,  and  to  spread  among  those  lumbermen.  It  went 
on  in  a  most  powerful  and  remarkable  manner.  It  spread 
to  such  an  extent  that  in  many  cases  persons  would  be  con 
noted  and  converted,  who  had  not  attended  any  meetings, 
and  who  were  almost  as  ignorant  as  heathen.  Men  who  were 
getting  out  lumber,  and  were  living  in  little  shanties  alone, 
or  where  two  or  three  or  more  were  together,  would  be 
seized  with  such  conviction  that  it  would  lead  them  to  wan 
der  off  and  inquire  what  they  should  do  ;  and  they  would 
be  converted,  and  thus  the  revival  spread.  There  was  the 
greatest  simplicity  manifested  by  the  converts. 

An  aged  minister  who  had  been  somewhat  acquainted 
with  the  state  of  things,  related  to  me  as  an  instance  of  what 
was  going  on  there,  the  following  fact.  He  said  one  man 
in  a  certain  place,  had  a  little  shanty  by  himself  where  he 
slept  nights,  and  was  getting  out  his  shingles  during  the  day. 
He  began  to  feel  that  he  was  a  sinner,  and  his  convictions 
increased  upon  him  until  he  broke  down,  confessed  ms  sins, 
and  repented  ;  and  the  Spirit  of  God  revealed  to  him  so 
much  of  the  way  of  salvation,  that  he  evidently  knew  the 
Saviour.  But  he  had  never  attended  «  prayer-meeting,  or 
heard  a  prayer,  that  he  recollected,  iD  his  life.  His  feelings 
became  such,  that  he  finally  felt  constrained  to  go  and  tell 
some  of  his  acquaintances,  that  were  getting  out  lumber  in 
another  place,  how  he  felt.  But  when  he  arrived,  he  found 
that  they  felt,  a  good  many  of  them,  just  as  he  did  ;  and 
that  they  were  holding  prayer-meetings.  He  attended  theii 
prayer-meetings,  and  heard  them  pray,  and  finally  Brayed 
himself  ;  and  this  was  the  form  of  his  prayer  :  "  l^/rd  yon 
have  got  me  down  and  I  hope  you  will  keep  me  down.  And 
since  you  have  had  so  good  luck  with  me,  I  hope  you  wiK 
try  other  sinners." 

I  have  said  that  this  work  began  in  the  spring  of  1829 


«~*  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G.    F1.NNTW.. 

In  the  spring  of  1831,  I  was  at  Auburn  again.  Two  02 
three  men  from  this  lumber  region,  came  there  to  see  me, 
and  to  inquire  how  they  could  get  some  ministers  to  go  in 
there.  They  said  that  not  less  than  five  thousand  people 
had  been  converted  in  that  lumber  region  ;  that  the  revival 
had  extended  itself  along  for  eighty  miles,  and  there  was  not 
a  single  minister  of  the  gospel  there. 

I  have  never  been  in  that  region ;  but  from  all  I  hav^ 
ever  heard  about  it,  I  have  regarded  that  as  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  revivals  that  have  occurred  in  this  country.  It 
was  carried  on  almost  independently  of  the  ministry,  among 
a  class  of  people  very  ignorant,  in  regard  to  all  ordinary 
instruction ;  and  yet  so  clear  and  wonderful  were  the  teach 
ings  of  God,  that  I  have  always  understood  the  revival  was 
remarkably  free  from  fanaticism,  or  wildness,  or  anything 
that  was  objectionable.  I  may  have  been  misinformed  in 
some  respects,  but  report  the  matter  as  I  have  understood  it. 
"  Behold  how  great  a  matter  a  little  fire  kindleth  ! "  The 
spark  that  was  struck  into  the  hearts  of  those  few  lumber 
men  that  came  to  Philadelphia,  spread  over  that  forest,  and 
resulted  in  the  salvation  of  a  multitude  of  souls. 

I  found  Mr.  Patterson  to  be  one  of  the  truest  wid  holiost 
men  that  I  have  ever  labored  with.  His  preaching  wae 
quite  remarkable.  He  preached  with  great  earnestness  ; 
but  there  was  often  no  connection  in  what  he  said,  and  very 
liltle  relation  to  his  text.  He  has  often  said  to  me,  ff  When 
I  preach.  I  preach  from  Genesis  to  Revelation."  He  would 
take  a  ~sxt,  and  after  making  a  few  remarks  upon  it,  or 
perhaps  none  at  all,  some  other  text  would  be  suggested  to 
him.  upon  which  he  would  make  some  very  pertinent  and 
striking  remarks,  and  then  another  text ;  and  thus  his 
sermons  were  made  up  of  pithy  and  striking  remarks  upon 
a  great  number  of  texts,  as  they  arose  in  his  mind. 

He  was  a  tall  man,  of  striking  figure  and  powerful  voice 
He  would  preach  vi  ih  the  tears  rolling  down  his  cheeks, 
and  with  an  earnestness  and  pathos  that  were  very  striking 


EEVIVAL  AT  PHILADELPHIA.  252 

It  was  impossible  to  hear  him  preach  without  being  im 
pressed  with  a  sense  of  his  intense  earnestness  and  his  great 
honesty.  I  only  heard  him  preach  occasionally  ;  <md  when 
I  first  did  so,  was  pained,  thinking  that  such  was  the  ram 
bling  nature  of  his  preaching  that  it  could  not  take  effect. 
However,  I  found  myself  mistaken.  I  found  that  notwith 
standing  the  rambling  nature  of  hie  preaching,  his  great 
earnestness  and  unction  fastened  the  truth  on  the  hearts  of 
his  hearers  ;  and  I  think  I  never  heard  him  preach  without 
finding  that  some  persons  were  deeply  convicted  by  what  he 
said. 

He  always  used  to  have  a  revival  of  religion  every 
winter ;  and  at  the  time  when  I  labored  with  him,  I  think 
he  told  me  he  had  had  a  revival  for  fourteen  winters  in 
succession.  He  had  a  praying  people.  When  I  was  labor 
ing  with  him  I  recollect  that,  for  two  or  three  days,  at  one 
time,  there  seemed  to  be  something  in  the  way.  The  work 
seemed  to  be  in  a  measure  suspended ;  and  I  began  to  feel 
alarmed  lest  something  had  grieved  the  Holy  Spirit.  One 
evening  at  prayer-meeting,  while  this  state  of  things  was 
becoming  manifest,  one  of  his  elders  arose  and  made  A  con 
fession.  He  said,  "  Brethren,  the  Spirit  of  God  has  been 
grieved,  and  I  have  grieved  him.  I  have  been  in  the  habit, " 
said  he,  "of  praying  for  brother  Patterson,  and  for  the 
preaching,  on  Saturday  night,  until  midnight.  This  has 
been  my  habit  for  many  years,  to  spend  Saturday  night,  till 
midnight,  in  imploring  the  blessing  of  God  upon  the  labors 
of  the  Sabbath.  Last  Saturday  night,"  he  continued,  "I 
was  fatigued,  and  omitted  it.  I  thought  the  work  was 
going  on  so  pleasantly  and  so  powerfully,  that  I  might 
indulge  myself,  an!  go  to  bed  without  looking  to  God  for  a 
blessing  on  the  labors  of  the  Sabbath.  On  the  Sabbath," 
said  he,  4<  I  was  impressed  with  the  conviction  that  I  had 
grieved  the  Spirit ;  and  I  saw  that  there  was  not  the  usual 
manifestation  of  the  influence  of  the  Spirit  upon  the  congre 
gation.  I  have  felt  convicted  ever  since  ;  and  have  felt  that 


MEMOIRS    OF   CHARLES   G. 

it  was  my  duty  to  make  this  public  confession.  I  do  not 
know,"  said  he,  "  who  beside  myself  has  grieved  the  Spirit 
of  God  ;  but  I  am  sure  that  I  have  done  so." 

I  have  spoken  of  Mr.  Patterson's  orthodoxy.  When  I 
first  began  to  labor  with  him,  I  felt  considerably  tried,  in 
some  instances,  with  what  he  would  say  to  convicted  sinners. 
For  example  :  the  first  meeting  for  inquirers  that  we  had, 
the  number  in  attendance  was  very  large.  We  spent  some 
time  in  conversing  with  different  persons,  and  moving  around 
from  place  to  place,  giving  instructions.  The  first  I  knew 
Mr.  Patterson  arose,  and  in  a  very  excited  manner,  said, 
"  My  friends,  you  have  turned  your  faces  Zionward,  and 
now  I  exhort  you  to  press  forward."  He  went  on  in  an  ex 
hortation  of  a  few  moments,  in  which  he  made,  listinctly, 
the  impression  that  they  were  now  in  the  right  way ;  and 
that  they  had  only  to  press  forward  as  they  were  doing  then 
and  they  would  be  saved.  His  remarks  pained  me  exceed 
ingly  ;  for  they  seemed  to  me  to  tend  to  self-righteousness, 
to  make  the  impression  that  they  were  doing  very  well,  and 
that  if  they  continued  to  do  their  duty,  as  they  were  then 
doing  it,  they  would  be  saved. 

This  was  not  my  view  of  their  condition  at  all ;  ar  "I  1 
felt  pained  to  hear  such  instructions  given,  and  perplexed 
with  the  question  how  I  should  counteract  it.  However,  at 
the  close  of  the  meeting,  when,  according  to  my  custom,  I 
summed  up  the  results  of  our  conversation,  and  made  an 
address  to  them,  I  alluded  to  what  Mr.  Patterson  had  said, 
and  remarked  that  they  must  not  misunderstand  what  he 
had  said  ;  that  what  he  had  said  was  true  of  those  that  had 
really  turned  to  God,  and  set  their  faces  Zionward,  by  giving 
their  hearts  to  God.  But  they  must  not  think  of  applying 
this  to  those  of  them  who  were  convicted,  but  had  not  yet 
repented,  believed,  and  given  their  hearts  to  God  ;  that 
instead  of  their  faces  being  turned  Zionward,  they  were 
really  turning  their  backs  upon  Christ ;  that  they  were  still 
resisting  the  Holy  Spirit ;  that  they  were  still  in  the  way  to 


fcSVTVAL  AT  PHILADELPHIA.  255 

hell ;  that  every  moment  they  resisted  they  were  waxing 
worse  ;  and  that  every  moment  they  remained  impenitent, 
without  submission,  repentance,  and  faith,  they  were  in 
creasing  their  condemnation.  The  Lord  gave  me  a  very 
clear  view  of  the  subject.  Mr.  Patterson  listened  with  the 
greatest  possible  attention.  I  never  shall  forget  with  what 
earnestness  he  looked  at  me,  and  with  what  interest  he  saw 
the  discriminations  that  I  made. 

I  kept  on  in  my  address  until  I  could  see,  and  until  I 
felt,  that  the  impression  made  by  what  had  been  said,  had 
not  only  been  corrected,  but  that  a  great  pressure  was  bear 
ing  upon  them  to  submit  immediately.  I  then  called  upon 
them  to  kneel  down,  and  then  and  there  commit  themselves 
forever  to  the  Lord,  renouncing  all  their  sins,  and  giving 
themselves  up  to  the  disposal  of  sovereign  goodness,  with  faith 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  I  explained  to  them,  as  plainly 
as  I  could,  the  nature  of  the  atonement,  and  the  salvation 
presented  in  the  Gospel.  I  then  prayed  with  them,  and 
have  reason  to  believe  that  a  great  number  of  them  were 
converted  on  the  spot. 

After  this  I  never  heard  anything  from  Mr.  Patterson 
that  was  at  all  objectionable,  in  giving  instruction  to  inquir 
ing  sinners.  Indeed,  I  found  him  remarkably  teachable,  and 
his  mind  open  to  just  discriminations.  He  seemed  particu 
larly  quick  to  get  hold  of  those  truths  that  needed  to  be  pre 
sented  to  inquiring  sinners  ;  and  I  presume  to  the  (lay  of  his 
death,  he  never  again  presented  such  a  view  of  the  subject 
as  the  one  to  which  I  have  alluded.  I  respect  and  reverence 
his  very  name.  He  was  a  lovely  Christian  man,  and  a  faith 
ful  minister  of  Jesus  Christ 


CHAPTER  XIX 

BEVIVAL   AT   READING. 

AS  I  found  myself  in  Philadelphia,  in  the  heart  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  where  Princeton  views  were 
almost  universally  embraced,  I  must  say  still  more  emphat 
ically  than  I  have  done,  if  possible,  that  the  greatest  difficulty 
I  met  with  in  promoting  revivals  of  religion,  was  the  false 
.nstruction  given  to  the  people,  and  especially  to  inquiring 
sinners.  Indeed,  in  all  my  ministerial  life,  in  every  place 
and  country  where  I  have  labored,  I  have  found  this  diffi 
culty  to  a  greater  or  less  extent ;  and  I  am  satisfied  that 
multitudes  are  living  in  sin,  who  would  immediately  be  con 
verted  if  they  were  truly  instructed.  The  foundation  of  the 
error  of  which  I  speak,  is  the  dogma  that  human  nature  is 
sinful  in  itself  ;  and  that,  therefore,  sinners  are  entirely  un- 
ible  to  become  Christians.  It  is  admitted,  either  expressly 
or  virtually,  that  sinners  may  want  to  be  Christians,  and 
that  they  really  do  want  to  be  Christians,  and  often  try  t<j 
be  Christians,  and  yet  somehow  fail. 

It  had  been  the  practice,  and  still  is  to  some  extenc, 
when  ministers  were  preaching  repentance,  and  urging  the 
people  to  repent,  to  save  their  orthodoxy  by  telling  them 
that  they  could  not  repent,  any  more  than  they  could  make 
a  world.  But  the  sinner  must  be  set  to  do  something  ;  and 
with  all  their  orthodoxy,  they  could  not  hear  to  tell  him  that 
he  had  nothing  to  do.  They  must  therefore,  set  him  self- 
righteously  to  pray  for  a  new  heart.  They  would  sometimes 
tell  him  to  do  his  duty,  to  press  forward  in  duty,  to  read  his 
Bible,  to  use  the  means  of  grace ;  in  short,  they  would  tell 
him  to  do  anything  and  everything,  but  the  very  thing  which 


BEVIVAL  AT  BEADING.  25? 

God  commands  him  to  do.  God  commands  him  to  repent 
now,  to  believe  now,  to  make  to  him  a  new  heart  now.  But 
they  were  afraid  to  urge  God's  claims  in  this  form,  because 
they  were  continually  telling  the  sinner  that  he  had  no 
ability  whatever  to  do  these  things. 

As  an  illustration  of  what  I  have  found  in  this  and  other 
xmntries,  more  or  less,  ever  since  I  have  been  in  the  minis 
try,  I  will  refer  to  a  sermon  that  I  heard  from  the  Rev. 
Baptist  Noel,  in  England,  a  good  man,  and  orthodox  in  the 
common  acceptation  of  the  term.  His  text  was  :  "  Repent 
and  be  converted,  that  your  sins  may  be  blotted  out,  when 
the  times  of  refreshing  shall  come  from  the  presence  of  the 
Lord."  In  the  first  place  he  represented  repentance  not  as 
a  voluntary,  but  as  an  involuntary  change,  as  consisting  iii 
sorrow  for  sin,  a  mere  state  of  the  sensibility.  He  then 
insisted  upon  its  being  the  sinner's  duty  to  repent,  and  urged 
the  claims  of  God  upon  him.  But  he  was  preaching  to  an 
orthodox  congregation  ;  and  he  must  not,  and  did  not,  fail  to 
remind  them  that  they  could  not  repent ;  that  although  God 
required  it  of  them,  still  he  knew  that  it  was  impossible  for 
them  to  repent,  only  as  he  gave  them  repentance.  "You 
ask,  then,"  he  said,  "  what  you  shall  do."  "  Go  home,"  said 
he,  in  reply,  "  and  pray  for  repentance  ;  and  if  it  does  not 
come,  pray  again  for  repentance ;  and  still  if  it  does  not  come, 
keep  praying  till  it  does  come."  Here  he  left  them.  The  con 
gregation  was  large,  and  the  people  very  attentive ;  and  I 
actually  found  it  difficult  to  keep  from  screaming  to  the  peo 
ple,  to  repent,  and  not  to  think  that  they  were  doing  theii 
duty  in  merely  praying  for  repentance. 

Such  instructions  always  pained  me  exceedingly ;  and 
much  of  my  labor  in  the  ministry  has  consisted  in  correcting 
these  views,  and  in  pressing  the  sinner  immediately  to  do 
just  what  God  commands  him  to  do.  When  he  has  inquired 
of  me,  if  the  Spirit  of  God  has  nothing  to  do  with  it,  I  have 
said,  "  Yes  ;  as  a  matter  of  fact  you  will  not  do  it  of  your- 
<*elf.  But  the  Spirit  of  God  is  now  striving  with  you  to  lead 


258  MEMOIRS  OF   CHAKLES   G. 

you  to  do  just  what  he  would  have  you  do.  He  is  striving 
to  lead  you  to  repentance,  to  lead  you  to  believe  ,  and  is 
striving  with  you,  not  to  secure  the  performance  of  mere 
outward  acts,  but  to  change  your  heart."  The  church,  to  a 
rery  great  extent,  have  instructed  sinners  to  begin  on  the 
3Utside  in  religion ;  and  by  what  they  have  called  an  out 
ward  performance  of  duty,  to  secure  an  inward  change  o/ 
their  will  and  affections. 

But  I  have  ever  treated  this  as  totally  wrong,  unorthodox, 
and  in  the  highest  degree  dangerous.  Almost  innumerable 
instances  have  occurred,  in  which  I  have  found  the  results  of 
this  teaching,  of  which  I  have  complained,  to  be  a  misap 
prehension  of  duty  on  the  part  of  sinners;  and  I  think  I  may 
say  I  have  found  thousands  of  sinners,  of  all  ages,  who  are 
living  under  this  delusion,  and  would  never  think  themselves 
called  upon  to  do  anything  more  than  merely  to  pray  for  a 
new  heart,  live  a  moral  life,  read  their  Bibles,  attend  meet 
ing,  use  the  means  of  grace,  and  leave  all  the  responsibility 
of  their  conversion  and  salvation  with  God. 

From  Philadelphia,  in  the  winter  of  1829-30,  I  went  to 
Reading,  a  city  about  forty  miles  west  of  Philadelphia.  At 
this  place  an  incident  occurred,  which  I  shall  mention  in  its 
place,  that  was  a  striking  illustration  of  the  kind  of  teach 
ing  to  which  I  have  alluded,  and  of  its  natural  results.  In 
Reading  there  were  several  German  churches,  and  one 
Presbyterian  church.  The  pastor  of  the  latter  was  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Greer.  At  his  request,  and  that  of  the  elders  of 
the  church,  I  went  out  to  labor  there  for  a  time. 

I  soon  found,  however,  that  neither  Dr.  Greer,  nor  any 
of  his  people,  had  any  just  idea  of  what  they  needed,  or 
what  a  revival  really  was.  None  of  them  had  ever  seen  a 
revival,  so  far  as  I  could  learn.  Besides,  all  revival  efforts, 
for  that  winter,  had  been  forestalled,  by  an  arrangement  to 
have  a  ball  every  alternate  week,  which  was  attended  by 
many  of  the  members  of  the  church,  one  of  the  leading  elders 
in  Dr.  Greer's  church  being  one  of  the  managers.  I  <jould 


REVIVAL  AT   READING.  259 

not  learn  that  Dr.  G-reer  had  ever  said  anything  against 
this.  They  had  no  preaching  during  the  week,  and  I  believe 
no  religious  meetings  of  any  kind. 

When  I  found  what  the  state  of  things  was,  I  thought  it 
my  duty  to  tell  Dr.  Greer  that  those  balls  would  very  soon 
be  given  up,  or  I  should  not  be  allowed  to  occupy  hie  pulpit ; 
that  those  balls,  attended  by  his  church  members,  and 
headed  by  one  of  his  elders,  would  not  long  consist  with  my 
preaching.  But  he  said,  "Go  on  ;  take  your  own  course.'' 
I  did  so  ;  and  preached  three  times  on  the  Sabbath,  and  four 
times,  I  think,  during  the  week,  for  about  three  weeks, 
before  I  said  anything  about  any  other  meetings.  We  had 
no  prayer-meetings,  I  believe,  for  the  reason  that  the  lay 
members  had  never  been  in  the  habit  of  taking  part  in  such 
meetings. 

However,  on  the  third  Sabbath,  I  think,  1  gave  notice 
that  a  meeting  for  inquiry  would  be  held  in  the  lecture- 
room,  in  the  basement  of  the  church,  on  Monday  evening. 
I  stated  as  clearly  as  possible  the  object  of  the  meeting,  and 
mentioned  the  class  of  persons  that  I  desired  to  attend  ; 
inviting  those,  and  those  only,  that  were  seriously  impressed 
with  the  state  of  their  souls,  and  had  made  up  their  minds 
to  attend  immediately  to  the  subject,  and  desired  to  receive 
instruction  on  the  particular  question  of  what  they  should 
do  to  be  saved.  Dr.  Greer  made  no  objection  to  this,  as  he 
had  left  everything  to  my  judgment.  But  I  do  not  think  he 
had  an  idea  that  many,  if  any,  would  attend  such  a  meeting, 
under  such  an  invitation  ;  as  to  do  so  would  be  to  make  an 
open  acknowledgment  that  they  were  anxious  for  the  salva 
tion  of  their  souls,  and  had  made  up  their  minds  to  attend 
to  the  subject  at  once. 

Monday  was  rather  a  snowy,  cold  day.  I  think  I  observed 
that  conviction  was  taking  hold  of  the  congregation  ;  yet  I 
felt  doubtful  how  many  would  attend  a  meeting  of  inquirers. 
However,  when  evening  came,  I  went  to  the  meeting.  Dr 
Greer  came  in,  and  behold  1  the  lecture-room,  a  large  one — 3 


260  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G. 

think  nearly  as  large  as  the  body  of  the  church  above,  was 
full ;  and  on  looking  around  Dr.  Greer  observed  onat  most  of 
the  impenitent  persons  in  his   congregation  were  present 
and  among  them,  those  who  were  regarded  as  the  mosi 
respectable  and  influential. 

He  said  nothing  publicly.  But  he  said  to  me,  "  I  know 
nothing  about  such  a  meeting  as  this  ;  take  it  into  your  own 
hands,  and  manage  it  in  your  own  way."  I  opened  the 
meeting  by  a  short  address,  in  which  I  explained  to  them 
what  I  wished ;  that  is  to  have  a  few  moments'  conversation 
with  each  of  them,  and  to  have  them  state  to  me  frankly 
how  they  felt  on  the  subject,  what  their  convictions  were, 
what  their  determinations  were,  what  their  difficulties  were. 
I  told  them  that  if  they  were  sick  and  called  a  physician, 
he  would  wish  to  know  their  symptoms,  and  that  they 
should  tell  him  how  they  were,  and  how  they  had  been.  I 
said  to  them,  "I  cannot  adapt  instruction  to  your  present 
state  of  mind,  unless  you  reveal  it  to  me.  The  thing, 
therefore,  that  I  want,  is  that  you  reveal,  in  as  few  words 
as  you  can,  your  exact  state  of  mind  at  the  present  time. 
I  will  now  pass  around  among  you,  and  give  each  of  you 
an  opportunity  to  say,  in  the  fewest  words,  what  your  state 
of  mind  is."  Dr.  Greer  said  not  a  word,  but  followed  me 
around,  and  stood  or  sat  by  me  and  heard  all  that  I  had  to 
say.  He  kept  near  me,  for  I  .spoke  to  each  one  in  a  low 
voice,  so  as  not  to  be  heard  by  others  than  those  in  th< 
immediate  vicinity.  I  found  a  great  deal  of  convictiox 
and  feeling  in  the  meeting.  They  were  greatly  pressed 
with  conviction.  Conviction  had  taken  hold  of  all  classes, 
the  high  and  the  low,  the  rich  and  the  poor. 

Dr.  Greer  was  greatly  moved.  Though  he  said  nothing, 
still  it  was  evident  to  me  that  his  interest  was  intense.  To 
see  his  congregation  in  such  a  state  as  that,  wa^  what  ne 
had  never  had  any  conception  of.  I  saw  that  with  diffi 
culty,  at  times,  he  controlled  his  emotions. 

When  I  had  spent  as  much  time  as  was  allowed  me  in 


REVIVAL  1ST   HEADING.  26j 

personal  conversation,  I  then  went  back  to  the  desk,  and 
gave  them  an  address  ;  in  which,  according  to  my  custom, 
summed  up  the  results  of  what  I  had  found  that  was  inter 
esting,  in  the  communications  that  they  had  made  to  » e. 
Avoiding  all  personalities,  I  took  up  the  representative  cases, 
and  dissected,  and  corrected,  and  taught  them.  I  tried  to 
strip  away  their  misapprehensions  and  mistakes,  to  correct 
the  impression  that  they  had,  that  they  must  simply  use 
means  and  wait  for  God  to  convert  them  ;  and  in  an  address 
of  perhaps  a  half  or  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  I  set  before 
them  the  whole  situation,  as  clearly  as  I  possibly  could. 
After  praying  with  them  I  called  on  those  that  felt  prepared 
to  submit,  and  who  were  willing  then  and  there  to  pledge 
themselves  to  live  wholly  to  God,  who  were  willing  to  com 
mit  themselves  to  the  sovereign  mercy  of  God  in  Christ 
Jesus,  who  were  willing  to  give  up  all  sin,  and  to  renounce 
it  forever,  to  kneel  down,  and  while  I  prayed,  to  commit 
themselves  to  Christ,  and  inwardly  to  do  what  I  exhorted 
them  to  do.  I  called  on  those  only  to  kneel  down,  who  were 
willing  to  do  what  God  required  of  them,  and  what  I  pre 
sented  before  them.  Dr.  Greer  looked  very  much  surprised 
at  the  test  I  put,  and  the  manner  in  which  I  pressed  them 
to  instant  submission. 

As  soon  as  I  saw  that  they  thoroughly  understood  me,  J 
called  on  them  to  kneel,  and  knelt  myself.  Dr.  Greei 
knelt  by  my  side,  but  said  nothing.  I  presented  the  case 
in  prayer  to  God,  and  held  right  to  the  point  of  now  sub 
tnitting,  believing,  and  consecrating  themselves  to  God 
There  was  an  awful  solemnity  pervading  the  congregation, 
and  the  stillness  of  death,  with  the  exception  of  my  own 
voice  in  prayer,  and  the  sobs,  and  sighs,  and  weeping  that 
were  heard  more  or  less  throughout  the  congregation. 

After  spreading  the  case  before  God  we  rose  from  our 
knees,  and  without  saying  anything  farther  I  pronounced 
the  blessing  and  dismissed  them.  Dr.  Greer  took  me  cor 
diallv  bv  the  hand,  and  smiling  said,  "  I  will  see  you  in  the 


862  MEMOIRS   OF   CHAELES   G.    PIKNJET. 

morning."  He  went  his  way,  and  I  went  to  my  lodgings 
A.t  about  eleven  o'clock,  I  should  judge,  a  messenger  cam* 
funning  over  to  my  lodgings,  and  called  me,  and  said  that 
Dr.  Grreer  was  dead.  I  inquired  what  it  meant.  He  said 
tie  had  just  retired,  and  was  taken  with  a  fit  of  apoplexy,  anJ 
lied  immediately.  He  was  greatly  respected  and  beloved 
by  his  people,  and  I  am  persuaded  he  deserved  to  be.  He 
vras  a  man  of  thorough  education,  and  I  trust  of  earnest 
piety.  But  his  theological  education  had  not  at  all  fitted 
him  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  that  is  to  win  souls  to 
Christ.  He  was  beside  rather  a  timid  man.  He  did  not 
like  to  face  his  people,  and  resist  the  encroachments  of  sin 
as  he  needed  to  do.  His  sudden  death  was  a  great  shock, 
and  became  the  subject  of  constant  conversation  throughout 
the  town. 

Although  I  found  a  goodly  number  had,  to  all  human 
appearance,  submitted  at  the  meeting  on  Monday  evening, 
still  the  death  of  Dr.  Greer,  under  such  extraordinary  cir 
cumstances,  proved  a  great  diversion  of  the  public  mind  for 
a  week  or  more.  But  after  his  funeral  was  over,  and  the 
usual  evening  services  got  into  their  proper  channel,  the 
work  took  on  a  powerful  type,  and  went  forward  in  a  most 
encouraging  manner. 

Many  very  interesting  incidents  occurred  in  this  revival. 
I  recollect  on  one  very  snowy  night,  when  the  snow  had 
already  fallen  deep,  and  was  drifting  in  a  terrible  manner 
under  a  fierce  gale  of  wind,  I  was  called  up  about  midnight, 
to  go  and  visit  a  man  who,  they  informed  me,  was  undei 
such  awful  conviction  that  he  could  not  live,  unless  some 
thing  could  be  done  for  him.  The  man's  name  was  B 

He  was  a  stalwart  man,  very  muscular,  a  man  of  great  force 
of  will  and  strength  of  nerve,  physically  a  fine  specimen  of 
humanity.  His  wife  was  a  professor  of  religion  ;  but  he  had 
'  cared  for  none  of  these  things.** 

He  had  been  at  the  meeting  that  evening,  and  the  ser 
mon  had  torn  him  to  pieces.     He  went  home  in  a  terrible 


BBVIVAL   IN   READLNtt.  46i> 

state  of  mind,  his  convictions  and  distress  increasing  till  it 
overcame  his  bodily  strength ;  and  his  family  feared  he 
would  die.  Although  it  was  in  the  midst  of  such  a  terrific 
storm,  they  dispatched  a  messenger  for  me.  We  had  to  face 
the  storm,  and  walked  perhaps  fifty  or  sixty  rods.  I  heard 
ais  moanings,  or  rather  bowlings,  before  I  got  near  the  house. 
When  I  entered  I  found  him  sitting  on  the  floor,  his  wife,  1 
believe,  supporting  his  head — and  what  a  look  in  his  face  ! 
It  was  indescribable.  Accustomed  as  I  was  to  seeing 
persons  under  great  convictions,  I  must  confess  that  his 
appearance  gave  me  a  tremendous  shock.  He  was  writhing 
in  agony,  grinding  his  teeth,  and  literally  gnawing  his 
tongue  for  pain.  He  cried  out  to  me,  "  0,  Mr.  Finney  !  1 
am  lost  !  I  am  a  lost  soul !  "  I  was  greatly  shocked  and  ex 
claimed,  "  If  this  is  conviction,  what  is  hell?"  However, 
I  recovered  myself  as  soon  as  I  could,  and  sat  down  by  his 
side.  At  first  he  found  it  difficult  to  attend  ;  but  I  soon 
led  his  thoughts  to  the  way  of  salvation  through  Christ. 
I  pressed  the  Saviour  upon  his  attention  and  upon  his 
acceptance.  His  burden  was  soon  removed.  He  was  per 
suaded  to  trust  the  Saviour,  and  he  came  out  free  and  joy 
ful  in  hope. 

Of  course,  from  day  to  day,  I  had  my  hands,  my  head, 
and  my  heart  entirely  full.  There  was  no  pastor  to  help  me, 
and  the  work  spread  on  every  hand.  The  elder  of  the 
church  to  whom  I  have  alluded  as  being  one  of  the  mana 
gers  of  their  stated  balls,  soon  broke  down  his  heart  before 
the  Lord,  and  entered  into  the  work  ;  and,  as  a  consequence, 
his  family  were  soon  converted.  The  revival  made  » 
thorough  sweep  in  the  families  of  those  members  of  the 
Church  that  entered  into  the  work. 

I  said  that  in  this  place  a  circumstance  occurred,  that 
illustrated  the  influence  of  that  old  school  teaching  of  which 
I  have  complained.  Very  early  one  morning  a  lawyer, 
belonging  to  one  of  the  most  respectable  families  in  the 
town,  called  at  my  room,  in  the  greatest  agitation  of  mind. 


264  MEMOIRS   OF  CHARLES  G. 

I  saw  he  was  a  man  of  first-rate  intelligence,  and  a  gentle 
man  ;  but  I  had  nowhere  seen  him,  to  know  him.  He  came 
in  and  introduced  himself,  and  said  he  was  a  lost  sinner— 
that  he  had  made  up  his  mind  that  there  was  no  hope  for 
him.  He  then  informed  me  that  when  he  was  in  Princeton 
College,  he  and  two  of  his  classmates  became  very  anxious 
about  their  souls.  They  went  together  to  Dr.  Ashbel  Green, 
who  was  then  president  of  the  college,  and  asked  him  what 
they  should  do  to  be  saved.  He  said  the  doctor  told  them 
he  was  very  glad  to  have  them  come  and  make  the  inquiry  ; 
and  then  told  them  to  keep  out  of  all  bad  company,  to  read 
their  Bible  statedly,  and  to  pray  God  to  give  them  a  new 
heart.  "  Continue  this,"  he  said,  "  and  press  forward  in 
duty ;  and  the  Spirit  of  God  will  convert  you ;  or  else  he 
will  leave  you,  and  you  will  return  back  to  your  sins  again." 
"Well,"  I  inquired,  "how  did  it  terminate  ?"  "0,"  said 
he,  "  we  did  just  as  he  told  us  to  do.  We  kept  out  of  bad 
company,  and  prayed  that  God  would  make  us  a  new  heart. 
But  after  a  little  while  our  convictions  wore  away,  and  we 
did  not  care  to  pray  any  longer.  We  lost  all  interest  in  the 
subject;"  and  then  bursting  into  tears  he  said,  "My  two 
companions  are  in  drunkards'  graves,  and  if  I  cannot  repent 
I  shall  soon  be  in  one  myself."  This  remark  led  me  to  ob 
serve  that  he  had  indications  of  being  a  man  that  made  too 
free  use  of  ardent  spirits.  However,  this  was  early  in  the 
morning ;  and  he  was  entirely  free  from  drink,  and  in  ter 
rible  anxiety  about  his  soul. 

I  tried  to  instruct  him,  and  to  show  him  the  error  that 
he  had  fallen  into,  under  such  instructions  as  he  had  received, 
and  that  he  had  resisted  and  grieved  the  Spirit,  by  waiting 
for  God  to  do  what  he  had  commanded  him  to  do.  I  tried 
to  show  him  that,  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  God  could  not 
do  for  him  what  he  required  him  to  do.  God  required  him 
to  repent,  and  God  could  not  repent  for  him  ;  required  him 
to  believe,  but  God  could  not  believe  for  him  ;  God  required 
him  to  submit,  but  could  not  submit  for  him.  I  then  tried 


REVIVAL  AT   READING.  265 

to  make  him  understand  the  agency  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
has  in  giving  the  sinner  repentance  and  a  new  heart ;  that  it 
is  a  divine  persuasion ;  that  the  Spirit  leads  him  to  see  his 
sins,  urges  him  to  give  them  up,  and  to  flee  from  the  wrath 
to  come.  He  presents  to  him  the  Saviour,  the  atonement, 
the  plan  of  salvation,  and  urges  him  to  accept  it 

I  asked  him  if  he  did  not  feel  this  urgency  upon  himself, 
ifl  these  truths  revealed  in  his  own  mind  ;  and  a  call,  now  to 
submit,  to  believe,  to  make  himself  a  new  heart.  ' '  0  yes ! " 
he  said,  "  0  yes  !  I  see  and  feel  all  this.  But  am  I  not  given 
up  of  God  ?  Is  not  my  day  of  grace  past  ?  "  I  said  to  him, 
"  No  !  It  is  plain  the  Spirit  of  God  is  still  calling  you,  still 
urging  you  to  repentance  ;  you  acknowledge  that  you  feel 
this  urgency  in  your  own  mind."  He  inquired,  "Is  this, 
then,  what  the  Spirit  of  God  is  doing,  to  show  me  all  this  ? " 
I  assured  him  that  it  was  ;  and  that  he  was  to  understand 
this  as  a  divine  call,  and  as  evidence  conclusive  that  he  was 
not  abandoned,  and  had  not  sinned  away  the  day  of  grace, 
but  that  God  was  striving  to  save  him  stilL  I  then  asked 
him  if  he  would  respond  to  the  call,  if  he  would  come  to 
Jesus,  if  he  would  lay  hold  upon  eternal  life  then  and  there. 

He  was  an  intelligent  man,  and  the  Spirit  of  God  was 
upon  and  teaching  him,  and  making  him  understand  every 
word  that  I  said.  When  I  saw  that  the  way  was  fully  pre 
pared,  I  called  on  him  to  kneel  down  and  submit ;  and  he 
did  so,  and  to  all  human  appearance,  became  a  thorough 
convert  right  upon  the  spot.  "  Oh  ! "  he  afterwa^ls  said, 
"  if  Dr.  Green  had  only  told  us  this  that  you  have  told  me, 
we  should  all  have  been  converted  immediately.  But  my 
friends  and  companions  are  lost ;  and  what  a  wonder  cf 
mercy  it  is  that  I  am  saved  ! " 

I  recollect  a  very  interesting  incident  in  the  case  of  a 
merchant  in  Eeading,  one  branch  of  whose  business  was  the 
making  of  whiskey.  He  had  just  been  fitting  up  a  very 
large  distillery  at  a  good  deal  of  expense.  He  had  con 
structed  it  with  all  the  latest  improvements,  on  a 
12 


266  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G. 

scale,  and  was  going  deeply  into  thp  business.  But  as  soot 
as  he  was  converted,  he  gave  up  all  thought  of  going  any 
farther  with  that  business.  It  was  a  spontaneous  conclusion 
of  his  own  mind.  He  said  at  once,  "  I  shall  have  nothing 
to  do  with  that.  I  shall  tear  my  distillery  down.  I  will 
neither  work  it,  nor  sell  it  to  be  worked." 

His  wife  was  a  good  woman,  and  a  sister  to  Mr.  B , 

whose  conversion  I  have  mentioned  as  occurring  on  that 

stormy  night.  The  merchant's  name  was  O'B .  The 

revival  took  a  powerful  hold  in  his  family,  and  several  of  them 
were  converted.  I  do  not  recollect  now  how  many  there 
were  ;  but  I  think  every  impenitent  person  in  his  household 
was  converted.  His  brother  also,  and  his  brother's  wife. 
and,  I  know  not  how  many,  but  quite  a  large  circle  of  rela 
tives  were  among  the  converts.  But  Mr.  O'B himsell 

was  in  feeble  health,  and  was  rapidly  passing  away  with  the 
consumption.  I  visited  him  frequently,  and  found  him  full 
of  joy. 

We  had  been  examining  candidates  for  admission  to  the 
church,  and  a  large  number  were  to  be  admitted  on  a 
certain  Sabbath.  Among  them  were  those  members  of  his 
own  family,  and  those  relatives  of  his  that  had  been 
converted.  Sabbath  morning  came.  It  was  soon  found 

Mr.  O'B could  not  live  through  the  day.  He  called 

his  wife  to  his  bed-side  and  said  to  her,  "  My  dear,  I  am 
going  to  spend  the  Sabbath  in  heaven.  Let  all  the  family 
go,  and  all  the  friends,  and  unite  with  the  church  below  ; 
and  I  will  join  the  church  above."  Before  meeting  time  he 
was  dead.  Friends  were  called  in  to  lay  him  in  his  shroud  ; 
his  family  and  relatives  gathered  around  his  corpse,  and 
then  turned  away  and  came  to  meeting  ;  and,  as  he  had 
desired,  united  with  the  church  militant,  while  he  went  to 
unite  with  the  church  triumphant. 

Their  pastor  had  but  just  gone  before  ;  and  I  think  it 

was  that  morning,  I  had  said  to  Mr.  O'B ,  "Give  my 

lore  to  brother  Greer,  when  you  get  to  heaven,"  He  smiled 


BJBVIVAL   AT    READING.  267 

with  holy  joy  and  said  to  me,  "  Do  you  think  I  shall  know 
him  ?"  I  said,  "Yes,  undoubtedly  you  will  know  him. 
Give  him  my  love,  and  tell  him  the  work  is  going  on  glori 
ously."  "  I  will,  I  will,"  said  he.  His  wife  and  family  sat 
at  the  communion  table,  showing  in  their  countenance 
mingled  joy  and  sorrow.  There  was  a  kind  of  holy  triumph 
manifested,  as  their  attention  was  called  to  the  fact  that  the 
husband,  and  father,  and  brother,  and  friend,  was  sitting 
that  day  at  the  table  of  Jesus  on  high,  while  they  were 
gathered  around  his  table  on  earth. 

There  was  much  that  was  moving  and  interesting  in  that 
revival,  in  a  great  many  respects.  It  was  among  a  popula 
tion  that  had  had  no  conception  of  revivals  of  religion. 
The  German  population  supposed  themselves  to  have  been 
made  Christians  by  baptism,  and  especially  by  receiving  the 
communion.  Nearly  every  one  of  them,  if  asked  when 
they  became  Christians,  would  reply  that  they  took  theii 

communion  at  such  a  time  of  Dr.  M ,  or  some  other 

German  divine.  And  when  I  asked  them  if  they  thought 
that  was  religion,  they  would  say,  yes,  they  supposed  it  was. 
Indeed  that  was  the  idea  of  Dr.  M himself,  In  walk 
ing  with  him  to  the  grave  of  Dr.  Greer,  on  the  occasion  of 
his  funeral,  he  told  me  he  had  made  sixteen  hundred  Chris 
tians  by  baptism,  and  giving  them  the  communion,  since  he 
had  been  pastor  of  that  church.  He  seemed  himself  to  have 
ao  other  idea  of  becoming  a  Christian  than  simply  to  learn 
,he  catecnism,  and  to  be  baptized  and  partake  of  the  com- 
nunion. 

The  re  rival  had  to  encounter  that  view  of  things  ;  and 
,he  influence  was  at  first,  almost  altogether  in  that  direction, 
[t  was  held,  as  I  was  informed,  and  I  have  no  doubt  of  it, 
that  for  them  to  begin  to  think  of  being  religious,  by  being 
converted,  and  to  establish  family  prayer,  or  to  give  them 
selves  to  secret  prayer,  was  not  only  fanaticism,  but  was  vir 
tually  saying  that  their  ancestors  had  all  gone  to  hell ;  for 
they  had  done  no  such  thing.  The  German  ministers  would 


268  MEMOIRS   OF    CHAKLES   G. 

preach  against  all  those  things,  as  I  was  informed  IT  those 
that  heard  them,  and  speak  severely  of  those  tha.  forsook 
the  ways  of  their  fathers,  and  thought  it  necessary  to  be  con 
verted,  and  to  maintain  family  and  secret  prayer. 

The  great  majority,  I  think,  of  Dr.  Greer's  congregation 
were  converted  in  this  revival.  At  first  I  had  considerable 
difficulty  in  getting  rid  of  the  influence  of  the  daily  press. 
I  think  there  were  two  or  more  daily  newspapers  published 
there  at  the  time.  I  learned  that  the  editors  were  drinking 
men ;  and  were  not  infrequently  carded  home,  on  public 
occasions,  in  a  state  of  intoxication.  The  people  were  a 
good  deal  under  the  influence  of  the  daily  press.  I  mean 
the  German  population  particularly.  These  editors  began  to 
give  the  people  religious  advice,  and  to  speak  against  the 
revival,  and  the  preaching.  This  threw  the  people  into  a 
state  of  perplexity.  It  went  on  from  day  to  day,  and  from 
week  to  week,  till  finally  the  state  of  things  became  such 
that  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  notice  it.  I  therefore  went 
into  the  pulpit  when  the  house  was  crowded,  and  took  for 
my  text :  "  Ye  are  of  your  father  the  devil,  and  tne  lusts  of 
your  father  ye  will  do."  I  then  went  on  to  show  in  what 
way  sinners  would  fulfil  the  desires  of  the  devil,  pointing 
out  a  great  many  ways  in  which  they  would  perform  his  dirty 
work,  and  do  for  him  what  he  could  not  do  for  himsell 

After  I  had  got  the  subject  well  before  the  people,  1 
applied  it  to  the  course  pursued  by  the  editors  of  those  daily 
papers.  I  asked  the  people  if  they  did  not  think  that  those 
editors  were  fulfilling  the  desires  of  the  devil ;  if  they  did 
not  believe  the  devil  desired  them  to  do  just  what  they  did  ? 
then  asked  them  if  it  was  suitable  and  decent,  for  men  of 
their  character,  to  attempt  to  give  religious  instruction  to 
the  people  ?  I  told  the  people  what  I  understood  their 
character  to  be,  and  turned  my  hand  upcn  them  pretty 
heavily,  that  such  men  should  attempt  to  msti  ict  the  people, 
in  regard  to  their  duties  to  God  and  their  neighbors.  I 
said,  "  If  I  had  a  family  in  the  place  I  would  not  have  such 


REVIVAL  AT   EEADIXG.  $69 

a  paper  in  the  house  ;  I  should  fear  to  have  it  tinder  my 
roof  ;  I  should  consider  it  too  filthy  to  be  touched  with  my 
fingers,  and  would  take  the  tongs  and  throw  it  into  the 
street."  In  some  way  the  papers  got  into  the  si^set  the 
next  morning,  pretty  plentifully,  and  I  neither  saw  nor 
heard  any  more  of  their  opposition. 

I  continued  in  Reading  until  late  in  the  spring.  There 
were  many  very  striking  conversions  ;  and  so  far  as  I  know, 
Dr.  Greer's  congregation  was  left  entirely  united,  greatly 
encouraged  and  strengthened,  and  with  large  additions 
made  to  their  number.  I  have  never  been  in  that  place 
since. 

From  Reading  1  went  to  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  at 
that  time  and  until  liis  death,  the  home  of  the  late  President 
Buchanan.  The  Presbyterian  church  at  Lancaster  had  no 
pastor,  and  I  found  religion  in  a  very  low  state.  They  had 
never  had  a  revival  of  religion,  and  manifestly  had  no  just 
conception  of  what  it  was,  or  of  the  appropriate  means  of 
securing  it.  I  remained  at  Lancaster  but  a  very  short  time. 
However  the  work  of  God  was  immediately  revived,  the 
Spirit  of  God  being  poured  out  almost  at  once  upon  the 
people.  I  was  the  guest  of  an  aged  gentleman  by  the  name 
of  K ,  who  was  one  of  the  elders  of  the  church,  and  in 
deed  the  leading  man  in  the  church. 

A  fact  occurred  in  relation  to  him,  while  I  was  in  hds 
family,  that  revealed  the  real  state  of  things  in  a  religious 
point  of  view,  in  that  church.  A  former  pastor  of  the 

jhurch  had  invited  Mr.  K to  join  the  church  and  hold 

he  office  of  elder.  I  should  say  that  the  facts  I  am  about 
X)  communicate  respecting  this  event,  were  related  to  me 
oj  himself.  One  Sabbath  evening  after  hearing  a  couple  of 
very  searching  sermons,  the  old  gentleman  could  not  gleep. 
He  was  so  greatly  exercised  in  his  mind,  that  he  could  not 
dndure  it  until  morning.  He  called  me  up  in  the  middle 
of  the  night,  stated  what  his  convictions  were,  and  then  said 
that  he  knew  he  ha^i  never  been  converted.  He  said  thai 


270  MEMOIRS   OF   CHAKLES    G. 

when  he  was  requested  to  join  the  church  and  become  an 
elder,  he  knew  that  he  was  not  a  converted  man.  But  the 
subject  was  pressed  upon  him  till  he  finally  consulted  Rev. 

Dr.  C ,  an  aged  minister  of  a  Presbyterian  church  nol 

far  from  Lancaster.  He  stated  to  him  the  fact  that  he  had 
never  been  converted,  and  yet  that  he  was  desired  to  join 

the  church  that  he  might  become  an  elder.  Dr.  C ,  it 

view  of  all  the  circumstances,  advised  him  to  join  :-^'3 
accept  the  office,  which  he  did. 

His  convictions  at  the  time  I  speak  HP.  were  very  deep.  1 
gave  him  such  instructions  as  I  thougn*,  lie  needed,  pressed 
him  to  accept  the  Saviour ;  and  dealt  with  him  just  as  I 
would  with  any  other  inquiring  sinner.  It  was  a  very  sol 
emn  time.  He  professed  at  the  time  to  submit  and  accept 
the  Saviour.  Of  his  subsequent  history  I  know  nothing. 
He  was  certainly  a  gentleman  of  high  character,  and  never 
to  my  knowledge  did  anything  outwardly,  to  disgrace  the 
position  which  he  held.  Those  who  are  acquainted  with  the 

state  of  the  church  of  which  Dr.  C was  pastor,  m  regard 

to  the  eldership  at  that  time,  will  not  wonder  at  the  advice 
which  he  gave  to  Mr.  K . 

Among  the  incidents  that  occurred,  during  my  short  stay 
at  Lancaster,  I  recall  the  following.  One  evening  I  preached 
on  a  subject  that  led  me  to  insist  upon  the  immediate  ac 
ceptance  of  Christ.  The  house  was  very  much  crowded, 
literally  packed.  At  the  close  of  my  sermon  I  made  a  strong 
appeal  to  the  people  to  decide  at  once  ;  and  I  think  I  called 
on  those  whose  minds  were  made  up,  and  who  would  then 
accept  the  Saviour,  to  rise  up,  that  we  might  know  who  they 
were,  and  that  we  might  make  them  subjects  of  prayer.  As 
I  learned  the  next  day,  there  were  two  men  sitting  near  one 
of  the  doors  of  the  church,  one  of  whom  was  very  much 
affected  under  the  appeal  that  was  made,  and  could  not 
avoid  manifesting  very  strong  emotion,  which  was  observed 
by  his  neighbor.  However,  the  man  did  not  rise  up,  nor 
give  bis  heart  to  God.  I  had  pressed  the  thought  upon 


EEVIVAL   AT   READING.  371 

them,  that  that  might  be  the  last  opportunity  that  some  of 
them  would  ever  have,  to  meet  and  decide  this  question ;  that 
in  so  large  a  congregation  it  was  not  unlikely  that  there  were 
those  there  who  would  then  decide  their  everlasting  destiny, 
one  way  or  the  other.  It  was  not  unlikely  that  God  would 
hold  some  of  them  to  the  decision  that  they  then  made. 

After  the  meeting  was  dismissed,  as  I  learned  the  next 
day,  these  two  men  went  out  together,  and  one  said  to 
the  other,  "  I  saw  you  felt  very  deeply  under  the  appeals 
Mr.  Pinney  made."  "I  did,"  he  replied.  "I  never  felt 
so  before  in  my  life ;  and  especially  when  he  reminded  us 
that  that  might  be  the  last  time  we  should  ever  have  an 
opportunity  to  accept  the  offer  of  mercy."  They  went 
on  conversing  in  this  way,  for  some  distance,  and  then 
separated,  each  one  going  to  his  own  home.  It  was  a  dark 
night,  and  the  one  who  had  felt  so  deeply,  and  was  so 
pressed  with  the  conviction  that  he  might  then  be  rejecting 
his  last  oif er,  fell  over  the  curbstone,  and  broke  his  neck. 
This  was  reported  to  me  the  next  day. 

I  established  prayer-meetings  in  Lancaster,  and  insisted 
upon  the  elders  of  the  church  taking  part  in  them.  This 
they  did  at  my  earnest  request,  although,  as  I  learned,  they 
had  never  been  accustomed  to  do  it  before.  The  interest 
seemed  to  increase  from  day  to  day,  and  hopeful  conversions 
multiplied.  I  do  not  recollect  now  why  I  did  not  remain 
longer  than  I  did  ;  but  I  left  at  so  early  a  period  as  not  tc 
be  able  to  give  anything  like  a  detailed  account  of  the  work 
there. 


CHARTER  XX. 

BBYIYALS   IS   COLUMBIA   AND   ffEW   YOBK    CFTS. 

FROM  Lancaster,  about  mid-summer,  1830,  I  returned 
to  Oneida  county,  New  York,  and  spent  a  short  time 
at  my  father-in-law's.  I  think  it  was  at  that  time,  during 
my  stay  in  Whitestown,  that  a  circumstance  occurred  oi 
great  interest,  and  which  I  will  relate.  A  messenger  came 
from  the  town  of  Colombia,  in  Herkimer  county,  requesting 
me  to  go  down  and  assist  in  a  work  of  grace  there,  which  was 
already  commenced.  Such  representations  were  made  to  me 
as  induced  me  to  go.  However,  I  did  not  expect  to  remain 
there,  as  I  had  other  more  pressing  calls  for  labor.  I  went 
down,  however,  to  see,  and  to  lend  such  aid  as  I  was  able, 
for  a  short  time. 

At  Columbia  was  a  large  German  church,  the  member 
ship  of  which  had  been  received,  according  to  their  custom, 
upon  examination  of  their  doctrinal  knowledge,  instead  of 
their  Christian  experience.  Consequently  the  cku?xh  had 
been  composed  mostly,  as  I  was  informed,  of  unconverted 
persons.  Both  the  church  and  congregation  were  large. 

Their  pastor  was  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  H .  He 

was  of  German  descent,  and  from  Pennsylvania. 

He  gave  me  the  following  account  of  himself ,  and  of  the 
state  o:'  things  in  Columbia.  He  said  he  studied  theology 
with  a  German  doctor  of  divinity,  at  the  place  where  he 
lived,  who  did  not  encourage  experimental  religion  at  all. 
He  said  that  one  of  his  fellow-students  was  religiously 
inclined,  and  used  to  pray  in  his  closet.  Their  teacher  sus 
pected  this,  and  in  some  way  came  to  a  knowledge  of  the 
fact.  He  warned  the  you :  man  against  it,  as  a  very  dan 


REVIVAL   IN   COLUMBIA.  273 

gerous  practice,  and  said  he  would  become  insane  if  he 
persisted  in  it,  and  he  should  be  blamed  himself  for 

allowing  a  student  to  take  such  a  course.  Mr.  H said 

fchat  he  himself  had  no  religion.  He  had  joined  the  church 
in  the  common  way,  and  had  no  thought  that  anything  else 
was  requisite,  so  far  as  piety  was  concerned,  to  become  a 
minister.  But  his  mother  was  a  pious  woman.  She  knew 
Better,  and  was  greatly  distressed  that  a  son  of  hers  should 
enter  the  sacred  ministry,  who  had  never  been  converted. 
When  he  had  received  a  call  to  the  church  in  Columbia,  and 
was  about  to  leave  home,  his  mother  had  a  very  serious  talk 
with  him,  impressed  upon  him  the  fact  of  his  responsibility, 
and  said  some  things  that  bore  powerfully  upon  his  con 
science.  He  said  that  this  conversation  of  his  mother  he  could 
not  get  rid  of  ;  that  it  bore  upon  his  mind  heavily,  and  his 
convictions  of  sin  deepened  until  he  was  nearly  in  despair. 

This  continued  for  many  months.  He  had  no  one  to 
consult,  and  did  not  open  his  mind  to  anybody.  But  after 
a  severe  and  protracted  struggle  he  was  converted,  came  into 
the  light,  saw  where  he  was,  and  where  he  had  been,  and 
saw  the  condition  of  his  church,  and  of  all  those  churches 
which  had  admitted  their  members  in  the  way  in  which 
he  had  been  admitted.  His  wife  was  unconverted.  He 
immediately  gave  himself  to  labor  for  her  conversion,  and, 
under  God,  he  soon  secured  it.  His  soul  was  full  of  the 
subject ;  and  he  read  his  Bible,  and  prayed  and  preached 
with  all  his  might.  But  he  was  a  young  convert,  and  had 
bad  no  instruction  such  as  he  needed,  and  he  felt  at  a  loss 
what  to  do.  He  rode  about  the  town,  and  conversed  with 
the  elders  of  the  church,  and  with  the  principal  members, 
and  satisfied  himself  that  one  or  two  of  his  leading  elders, 
and  several  of  his  female  members,  knew  what  it  was  to  be 
converted. 

After  much  prayer  and  consideration,  he  made  up  hi* 
mind  what  to  do.  On  the  Sabbath  he  gave  them  notice  that 
t,here  would  be  a  meeting  of  the  church,  on  a  certain  dar 


274  MEMOIRS   OF    CHARLES    «.     PIJTNEY. 

during  the  week,  for  the  transaction  of  business,  and  wished 
all  the  church,  especially,  to  be  present.  His  own  conversion, 
and  preaching,  and  visiting,  and  conversing  around  the  towB 
had  already  created  a  good  deal  of  excitement,  so  that  reli 
gion  came  to  be  the  common  topic  of  conversation  ;  and  hig 
call  for  a  church-meeting  was  responded  to,  so  that,  on  the 
iay  appointed,  the  church  were  nearly  all  present. 

He  then  addressed  them  in  regard  to  the  real  state  of 
the  church,  and  the  error  they  had  fallen  into  in  rsgard  to 
the  conditions  on  which  members  had  been  received.  He 
made  a  speech  to  them,  partly  in  German,  and  partly  in  Eng 
lish,  so  as  to  have  all  classes  understand  as  far  as  he  could  ; 
and  after  talking  until  they  were  a  good  deal  moved,  he 
proposed  to  disband  the  church  and  form  a  new  one,  insist 
ing  upon  it  that  this  was  essential  to  the  prosperity  of 
religion.  He  had  an  understanding  with  those  members  of 
the  church  that  he  was  satisfied  were  truly  converted,  that 
they  should  lead  in  voting  for  the  disbanding  of  the  church. 
The  motion  was  put ;  whereupon  the  converted  members 
arose  as  requested.  They  were  very  influential  members, 
and  the  people  looking  around  and  seeing  these  on  their  feet, 
rose  up,  and  finally  they  kept  rising  till  the  vote  was  nearly 
or  quite  unanimous.  The  pastor  then  said,  "  There  is  now 
no  church  in  Columbia ;  and  we  propose  to  form  one  of 
Christians,  of  people  who  have  been  converted." 

He  then,  before  the  congregation,  related  his  own  experi 
ence,  and  called  on  his  wife,  and  she  did  the  same.  Then 
the  converted  elders  and  members  followed,  one  after 
another,  as  long  as  any  could  come  forward,  and  relate  a 
Christian  experience.  These,  they  proceeded  to  form  into  a 
church.  He  then  said  to  the  others,  "  Your  church  rela 
tions  are  dissolved.  You  are  out  in  the  world  ;  and  until  you 
are  converted,  and  in  .he  church,  you  cannot  have  your 
children  baptized,  and  you  cannot  partake  of  the  ordinances 
of  the  church."  This  created  a  great  panic  ;  for  according  to 
their  views,  it  was  an  awful  thing  not  to  partake  of  the 


BBVIVAL   IN    NEW   YORK   CITY.  275 

sacrament,  and  not  to  have  their  children  baptized  ;  for  this 
was  the  way  in  which  they  themselves  had  been  made 
Christians. 

Mr.  H then  labored  with  all  his  might.  He  visited, 

and  preached,  and  prayed,  and  held  meetings,  and  the  inter 
est  increased.  Thus  the  work  had  been  going  on  for  some 
time,  when  he  heard  that  I  was  in  Oneida  county,  and  sent 
the  messenger  for  me.  I  found  him  a  warm-hearted  young 
convert.  He  listened  to  my  preaching  with  almost  irrepress 
ible  joy.  I  found  the  congregation  large  and  interested ; 
and  so  far  as  I  could  judge,  the  work  was  in  a  very  prosper 
ous,  healthful  state.  That  revival  continued  to  spread  until 
it  reached  and  converted  nearly  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town.  Galesburg,  in  Illinois,  was  settled  by  a  colony  from 
Columbia,  who  were  nearly  all  converts,  I  believe,  of  the 
revival.  The  founder  of  the  colony  and  of  Knox  College, 
located  there,  was  Mr.  Gale,  my  former  pastor  at  Adams. 

I  have  told  facts,  as  I  remember  them,  as  related  to  me 

oy  Mr.  H .  I  found  his  views  evangelical,  and  his  heart 

warm  ;  and  he  was  surrounded  by  a  congregation  as  thor 
oughly  interested  in  religion  as  could  well  be  desired.  They 
would  hang  on  my  lips,  as  I  held  forth  to  them  the  Gospel 
of  Christ,  with  an  interest,  an  attention,  and  a  patience, 
that  was  in  the  highest  degree  interesting  and  aifecting. 

Mr.  H himself,  was  like  a  little  child — teachable,  and 

humble,  and  earnest.  That  work  continued  for  over  a  year, 
*s  I  understood,  spreading  throughout  that  large  and  inter 
esting  population  of  farmers. 

After  I  returned  to  Whitestown,  I  was  invited  to  visit 
the  city  of  New  York.  Anson  G.  Phelps,  since  well-known 
as  a  great  contributor,  by  will,  to  the  leading  benevolent 
institutions  of  our  country,  hearing  that  I  had  not  been 
invited  to  the  pulpits  of  that  city,  hired  a  vacant  church  in 
Vande water  street,  and  sent  me  an  urgent  request  to  come 
there  and  preach.  I  did  so,  and  there  we  had  a  powerful 
revival.  I  found  Mr.  Phelps  very  much  engaged  in  the  work 


MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   tt. 

and  not  hesitating  at  any  expense  that  was  necessary  to  pro 
mote  it  The  church  which  he  hired,  could  be  had  only  foi 
three  months.  Accordingly  Mr.  Phelps,  before  the  three 
months  were  out,  purchased  a  church  in  Prince  street,  near 
Broadway.  This  church  had  been  built  by  the  Universalists. 
md  was  sold  to  Mr.  Phelps,  who  bought  and  paid  for  it  him 
self.  From  Vandewater  street,  we  went  therefore,  to  Prince 
street,  and  there  formed  a  church,  mostly  of  persons  that 
had  been  converted  during  our  meetings  in  Vandewatei 
street.  I  continued  my  labors  in  Prince  street  for  some 
months,  I  think  until  quite  the  latter  part  of  summer. 

I  was  very  much  struck,  during  my  labors  there,  with 
the  piety  of  Mr.  Phelps.  While  we  continued  at  Vande 
water  street,  myself  and  wife,  with  our  only  child,  were 
guests  in  his  family.  I  had  observed  that,  while  Mr.  Phelps 
was  a  man  literally  loaded  with  business,  somehow  he  pre 
served  a  highly  spiritual  frame  of  mind  ;  and  that  he  would 
come  directly  from  his  business  to  our  prayer-meetings,  and 
enter  into  them  with  such  spirit,  as  to  show  clearly  that  his 
mind  was  not  absorbed  in  business,  to  the  exclusion  of  spirit 
ual  things.  As  I  watched  him  from  day  to  day,  I  became 
more  and  more  interested  in  his  interior  life,  as  it  was  mani 
fested  in  his  outward  life.  One  night  I  had  occasion  to  go 
down  stairs,  I  should  think  about  twelve  or  one  o'clock  at 
night,  to  get  something  for  our  little  child.  I  supposed  the 
family  were  all  asleep,  but  to  my  surprise  I  found  Mr. 
Phelps  sitting  by  his  fire,  in  his  night-dress,  and  saw  that  I 
had  broken  in  upon  his  secret  devotions.  I  apologized  by 
saying  that  I  supposed  he  was  in  bed.  He  replied, 
"  Brother  Finney,  I  have  a  great  deal  of  business  pressing 
me  during  the  day,  and  have  but  little  time  for  secret  devo 
tion  ;  and  my  custom  is,  after  having  a  nap  at  night,  to 
arise  and  have  a  season  of  communion  with  God."  After 
his  death,  which  occurred  not  many  years  ago,  it  was  found 
that  he  had  kept  a  journal  during  these  hours  in  the  night, 
comprising  several  manuscript  volumes.  This  journal 


EBVIVAL  US  NEW   YORK   OITT.  27? 

reyealed  the  secret  workings  of  his  mind,  and  the  real 
progress  of  his  interior  life. 

I  never  Jmew  the  number  converted  while  I  was  in  Prince 
and  Vandewater  streets ;  but  it  must  have  been  large. 
There  was  one  case  of  conversion  that  I  must  not  omit  to 
mention.  A  young  woman  visited  me  one  day,  under  great 
conviction  of  sin.  On  conversing  with  her,  I  found  that  she 
had  many  things  upon  her  conscience.  She  had  been  in  the 
habit  of  pilfering,  as  she  told  me,  from  her  very  childhood. 
She  was  the  daughter,  and  the  only  child,  I  think,  of  a 
widow  lady  ;  and  she  had  been  in  the  habit  of  taking  from 
her  schoolmates  and  others,  handkerchiefs,  and  breastpins, 
and  pencils,  and  whatever  she  had  an  opportunity  to  steal. 
She  made  confession  respecting  some  of  these  things  to  me, 
and  asked  me  what  she  should  do  about  it.  I  told  her  she 
must  go  and  return  them,  and  make  confession  to  those  from 
whom  she  had  taken  them. 

This  of  course  greatly  tried  her  ;  yet  her  convictions  were 
so  deep  that  she  dare  not  keep  them,  and  she  began  the  work 
of  making  confession  and  restitution.  But  as  she  went  for 
ward  with  it,  she  continued  to  recall  more  and  more  in 
stances  of  the  kind,  and  kept  visiting  me  frequently,  and 
confessing  to  me  her  thefts  of  almost  every  kind  of  articles 
that  a  young  woman  could  use.  I  asked  her  if  her  mother 
knew  that  she  had  these  things.  She  said,  yes ;  but  that 
she  had  always  told  her  mother  that  they  were  given  her. 
She  said  to  me  on  one  occasion,  "  Mr.  Finney,  I  suppose  I 
have  stolen  a  million  of  times.  I  find  I  have  many  things 
that  I  know  I  stole,  but  I  cannot  recollect  from  whom."  I 
refused  altogether  to  compromise  with  her,  and  insisted  on 
her  making  restitution  in  every  case,  in  which  she  could,  by 
any  means,  recall  the  facts.  From  time  to  time  she  would 
come  to  me,  and  report  what  she  had  done.  I  asked  her,  what 
the  people  said  when  she  returned  the  articles.  She  replied, 
"  Some  of  them  say  that  I  am  crazy  ;  some  of  them  saj 
hat  I  am  a  fool ;  and  some  of  them  are  very  much  affected/ 


378  MEMOIRS  OF  CHARLES   6.    FLNNEX. 

"  Do  they  all  forgive  you  ? "  I  asked.  "  0  ye&  J "  sale 
she,  "they  all  forgive  me ;  but  some  of  them  think  tait  I 
had  better  not  do  as  I  am  doing." 

One  day  she  informed  me  that  she  had  a  shawl  which  she 
had  stolen  from  a  daughter  of  Bishop  Hobart,  chen  bishop 
of  New  York,  whose  residence  was  on  St.  John's  square,  and 
near  St.  John's  church.  As  usual,  I  told  her  she  must  re 
store  it.  A  few  days  after,  she  called  and  related  to  me  the 
result.  She  said  she  folded  up  the  shawl  in  a  paper,  and 
went  with  it,  and  rung  the  bell  at  the  Bishop's  door  ;  and 
when  the  servant  came,  she  handed  him  the  bundle  directed 
to  the  Bishop.  She  made  no  explanation,  but  turned  im 
mediately  away,  and  ran  around  the  corner  into  anothei 
street,  lest  some  one  should  look  out  and  see  which  way  she 
went,  and  find  out  who  she  was.  But  after  she  got  around 
the  corner,  her  conscience  smote  her,  and  she  said  to  herself, 
<(  I  have  not  done  this  thing  right.  Somebody  else  may  be 
suspected  of  having  stolen  the  shawl,  unless  I  make  known 
to  the  Bishop  who  did  it." 

She  turned  around,  went  immediately  back,  and  inquired 
if  she  could  see  the  Bisnop.  Being  informed  that  she  could, 
she  was  conducted  to  his  study.  She  then  confessed  to  him, 
told  him  about  the  shawl,  and  all  that  had  passed. 
"  Well,"  said  I,  "  and  how  did  the  Bishop  receive  you  ?  " 
"  Oh,"  said  she,  "  when  I  told  him,  he  wept,  laid  his  hand 
on  my  head,  and  said  he  forgave  me,  and  prayed  God 
to  forgive  me."  "And  have  you  been  at  peace  in  your 
mind,"  said  I,  "  about  that  transaction  since  ?  "  "0  yes  ! " 
said  she.  This  process  continued  for  weeks,  and  I  think 
for  months.  This  girl  was  going  from  place  to  place  in  ali 
parts  of  the  city,  restoring  things  that  she  had  stolen,  and 
making  confession,  Sometimes  her  convictions  would  be  sc 
awful,  that  it  seemed  as  if  she  would  be  deranged. 

One  morning  she  sent  for  me  to  come  to  her  mother's 
residence.  I  did  so,  and  when  1  arrived  I  was  introduced  to 
her  room,  and  found  her  with  her  hair  hanging  over  he- 


REVIVAL  Iff   NEW   YORK   CITY.  279 

shoulders,  */*td  her  clothes  in  disorder,  walking  the  room  in 
an  agony  of  despair,  and  with  a  look  that  was  frightful,  be 
•3ause  it  indicated  that  she  was  well  nigh  deranged.  Said  I, 
"  My  dear  child,  what  is  the  matter?"  She  held  in  hex 
hand,  as  she  was  walking,  a  little  Testament.  She  turned 
to  me  and  said,  "  Mr.  Finney,  I  stole  this  Testament.  I 
lave  stolen  God's  word ;  and  will  God  ever  forgive  me  r 
[  cannot  recollect  which  of  the  girls  it  was  that  I  stole  it 
from.  I  stole  it  from  one  of  my  schoolmates,  and  it  was  so 
iong  ago  that  I  had  really  forgotten  that  I  had  stolen  it.  It 
occurred  to  me  this  morning ;  and  it  seems  to  me  that  God 
san  never  forgive  me  for  stealing  his  word."  I  assured  hei 
that  there  was  no  reason  for  her  despair.  "  But,"  said  she, 
"what  shall  1  do  ?  I  cannot  remember  where  I  got  it."  I 
told  her,  "  Keep  it  as  a  constant  remembrance  of  your  for 
mer  sins,  and  use  it  for  the  good  you  may  now  get  from  it." 

"Oh,"  said  ane,  "if  I  could  only  remember  where  I  got 
it,  I  would  instantly  restore  it."  "Well,"  said  I,  "if  you 
can  ever  recollect  where  you  got  it,  make  an  instant  restitu 
tion,  either  by  restoring  that,  or  giving  another  as  good." 
"I  will,  "said  she. 

All  this  process  was  exceedingly  affecting  to  me  ;  but  as 
it  proceeded,  the  state  of  mind  that  resulted  from  these 
transactions  was  truly  wonderful.  A  depth  of  humility,  a 
deep  knowledge  of  herself  and  her  own  depravity,  a  broken- 
ness  of  heart,  and  contrition  of  spirit,  and  finally,  a  faith, 
and  joy,  and  love,  and  peace,  like  a  river,  succeeded ;  and 
Bhe  became  one  of  the  most  delightful  young  Christians  that 
I  have  known. 

When  the  time  drew  near  that  I  expected  to  leave  New 
York,  I  thought  that  some  one  in  the  church  ought  to  be 
acquainted  with  her,  who  could  watch  over  her.  Up  to  this 
time,  whatever  had  passed  between  us  had  been  a  secret, 
sacredly  kept  to  myself.  But  as  I  was  about  to  leave,  I 
narrated  the  fact  to  Mr.  Phelps,  and  the  narration  affected 
him  greatly.  He  said,  "Brother  Finney,  introduce  me  to 


380  MEMOIRS  OF   CHARLES   G.    FItfNEY. 

her.  I  will  be  her  friend ;  I  will  watch  over  her  for  hei 
good."  He  did  so,  as  I  afterwards  learned.  I  have  not 
seen  the  young  woman  for  many  years,  and  I  think  not 
since  I  related  the  fact  to  Mr.  Phelps.  But  when  I  returned 
from  England  the  last  time,  in  visiting  one  of  Mr.  Phelps' 
daughters,  in  the  course  of  the  conversation,  this  case  was 
alluded  to.  I  then  inquired,  "  Did  your  father  introduce 
you  to  that  young  woman  r  "  "0  yes  ! "  she  replied,  "  we 
all  knew  her ; "  meaning,  as  I  supposed,  all  the  daughters 
of  the  family.  "  Well,  what  do  you  know  of  her  ?"  said  I. 
"  0,"  said  she,  "  she  is  a  very  earnest  Christian  woman.  She 
is  married,  and  her  husband  is  in  business  in  this  city.  She 
is  a  member  of  the  church,  and  lives  in street,"  point 
ing  to  the  place,  not  far  from  where  we  then  were.  I 
inquired,  "  Has  she  always  maintained  a  consistent  Chris 
tian  character  ?  "  "0  yes  ! "  was  the  reply  ;  "  she  is  an 
excellent,  praying  woman."  In  some  way,  I  have  been  in 
formed,  and  I  cannot  recollect  now  the  source  of  the  infor 
mation,  that  the  woman  said  that  she  never  had  had  a  temp 
tation  to  pilfer,  from  the  time  of  her  conversion  ;  that  she 
had  never  known  what  it  was  to  have  the  desire  to  do  so. 

This  revival  prepared  the  way,  in  New  York,  for  the 
organization  of  the  Free  Presbyterian  churches  in  the  city. 
Those  churches  were  composed  afterward,  largely,  of  the  con 
verts  of  that  revival.  Many  of  them  had  belonged  to  the 
church  in  Prince  street. 

At  this  point  of  my  narrative,  in  order  to  render  intelli 
gible  many  things  that  I  shall  have  to  say  hereafter,  I  must 
give  a  little  account  of  the  circumstances  connected  with  the 
conversion  of  Mr.  Lewis  Tappan,  and  his  connection  after 
ward  with  my  own  labors.  This  account  I  received  from 
nimself.  His  conversion  occurred  before  I  was  personally 
acquainted  with  him,  under  the  following  circumstances 
He  was  a  Unitarian,  and  lived  in  Boston.  His  brother 
Arthur,  then  a  very  extensive  dry-goods  merchant  in  New 
York,  was  orthodox,  and  an  earnest  Christian  ma.ru 


HEV1VAL   Ltf    NEW    YORK   CIT\.  281 

revivals  through  central  New  York  had  created  c.  good  deal 
of  excitement  among  the  Unitarians  ;  and  their  newspapers 
had  a  good  deal  to  say  against  them.  Especially  were  there 
strange  stories  in  circulation  about  myself,  representing  me 
as  a  half-crazed  fanatic.  These  stories  had  been  related  to 

Lewis  Tappan  by  Mr.  W ,  a  leading  Unitarian  minister 

of  Boston,  and  he  believed  them.  They  were  credited  by 
many  of  the  Unitarians  in  New  England,  and  throughout 
the  State  of  New  York. 

While  these  stories  were  in  circulation,  Lewis  Tappan 
visited  his  brother  Arthur  in  New  York,  and  they  fell  into 
conversation  in  regard  to  those  revivals.  Lewis  called 
Arthur's  attention  to  the  strange  fanaticism  connected  with 
these  revivals,  especially  to  what  was  said  of  myself.  He 
asserted  that  I  gave  out  publicly,  that  I  was  "the  brigadier 
general  of  Jesus  Christ."  This,  and  like  reports  were  in 
circulation,  and  Lewis  insisted  upon  their  truth.  Arthur 
utterly  discredited  them,  and  told  Lewis  that  they  were  all 
nonsense  and  false,  and  that  he  ought  not  to  believe  any  of 

them.     Lewis,  relying  upon  the  statements  of  Mr.  W , 

proposed  to  bet  five  hundred  dollars  that  he  could  prove 
these  reports  to  be  true  ;  especially  the  one  already  referred 
to.  Arthur  replied,  "  Lewis,  you  know  that  1  do  not  bet ; 
but  I  will  tell  you  what  I  will  do.  If  you  can  prove  by  cred 
ible  testimony,  that  that  is  true,  and  that  the  reports  about 
Mr.  Finney  are  true,  I  will  give  you  five  hundred  dollars.  I 
make  this  offer  to  lead  you  to  investigate.  I  want  you  to 
know  that  these  stories  are  false,  and  that  the  source  whence 
they  come  is  utterly  unreliable."  Lewis,  not  doubting  that 
he  could  bring  the  proof,  inasmuch  as  these  things  had  been 
so  confidently  asserted  by  the  Unitarians,  wrote  to  Rev. 

Mr.  P ,  Unitarian  minister  at  Trenton  Falls,  New  York, 

to  whom  Mr.  W had  referred  him,  and  authorized  him 

to  expend  five  hundred  dollars,  if  need  be,  in  procuring  suf 
ficient  testimony  that  the  story  was  true  ;  such  testimony  as 
would  lead  to  the  conviction  of  a  party  in  a  court  of  j 


MEMOIRS   OF  CHARLES  G. 

Mr.  P ,  accordingly,  undertook  to  procure  the  testimony 

but  after  great  pains-taking,  was  unable  to  furnish  any, 
except  what  was  contained  in  a  small  Universalist  news 
paper,  printed  in  Buffalo,  in  which  it  had  been  asserted  that 
Mr.  Finney  claimed  that  he  was  a  brigadier  general  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Nowhere  could  he  get  the  least  proof  that  the 
report  was  true.  Many  persons  had  heard,  and  believed, 
that  I  had  said  these  things  somewhere  ;  but  as  he  followed 
up  the  reports  from  town  t  y  town,  by  his  correspondence,  he 
could  not  learn  that  these  things  had  been  said,  anywhere. 

This  in  connection  with  other  matters,  he  said,  led  him  to 
reflect  seriously  upon  the  nature  of  the  opposition,  and  upon 
the  source  whence  it  had  come.  Knowing  as  he  did  what 
stress  had  been  laid  upon  these  stories  by  the  Unitarians, 
and  the  use  they  had  made  of  them  to  oppose  the  revivals  in 
New  York  and  other  places,  his  confidence  in  them  was 
greatly  shaken.  Thus  his  prejudices  against  the  revivals 
and  orthodox  people  became  softened.  He  was  led  to  review 
the  theological  writings  of  the  Orthodox  and  the  Unitarians 
with  great  seriousness,  and  the  result  was  that  he  embraced 
orthodox  views.  The  mother  of  the  Tappans  was  a  very 
godly,  praying  woman.  She  had  never  had  any  sympathy 
with  Unitarianism.  She  had  lived  a  very  praying  lile,  and 
had  left  a  strong  impression  upon  her  children. 

As  soon  as  Lewis  Tappan  was  converted,  he  became  as 
firm  and  zealous  in  his  support  of  orthodox  views  and  re 
vivals  of  religion,  as  he  had  been  in  his  opposition  to  them. 
About  the  time  that  I  left  New  York,  after  my  first  labors 
there  in  Vandewater  and  Prince  streets,  Mr.  Tappan  and 
some  other  good  brethren,  became  dissatisfied  with  the  state 
of  things  in  New  York,  and  after  much  prayer  and  consid 
eration,  concluded  to  organize  a  new  congregation,  and  in 
troduce  new  measures  for  the  conversion  of  men.  They 
obtained  a  place  to  hold  worship,  and  called  the  Rev.  Joel 
Parker,  who  was  then  pastor  of  the  Third  Presbyterian 
church  in  Rochestei,  to  come  to  their  aid.  Mr.  Parker 


EBVIYAL  IN   NEW   YORK    CIT1.  288 

arrived  in  New  York,  and  began  his  labors,  I  think  about 
the  time  that  I  closed  my  labors  in  Prince  street  The  First 
Free  Presbyterian  church  was  formed  in  New  York,  about 
this  time,  and  Mr.  Parker  became  its  pastor.  They  labored 
especially  among  that  class  of  the  population  that  had  not 
been  in  the  habit  of  attending  meeting  anywhere,  and  were 
very  successful  They  finally  fitted  up  the  upper  story  of 
some  warehouses  in  Dey  street,  that  would  hold  a  good  COB 
grepration,  and  there  they  continued  their  labora. 


CHAPTER  XXL 

itBVIVAL   IN  ROCHESTER,  1830. 

T~  EAVING  New  York  spent  a  few  weeks  in  Whites 
.JL^  town ;  and,  as  was  common,  being  pressed  to  go  m 
many  directions,  I  was  greatly  at  a  loss  what  was  my  duty. 
But  among  others,  an  urgent  invitation  was  received  from 
the  Third  Presbyterian  church  in  Rochester,  of  which  Mr. 
Parker  had  been  pastor,  to  go  there  and  supply  them  for 
a  season. 

I  inquired  into  the  circumstances,  and  found  that  OB 
several  accounts  it  was  a  very  unpromising  field  of  labor 
There  were  but  three  Presbyterian  churches  in  Rochester, 
The  Third  church,  that  extended  the  invitation,  had  no 
minister,  and  religion  was  in  a  low  state.  The  Second 
church,  or  "the  Brick  Church,"  as  it  was  called,  had  a 
pastor,  an  excellent  man ;  but  in  regard  to  his  preaching 
there  was  considerable  division  in  the  church,  and  he  was 
restive  and  about  to  leave.  There  was  a  controversy  exist 
ing  between  an  elder  of  the  Third  church  and  the  pas 
tor  of  the  First  church,  that  was  about  to  be  tried  before 
the  presbytery.  This  and  other  matters  had  aroused  un 
christian  feeling,  to  some  extent,  in  both  churches ;  and 
altogether  it  seemed  a  forbidding  field  of  labor  at  that  time. 
The  friends  at  Rochester  were  exceedingly  anxious  to  have 
me  go  there — I  mean  the  members  of  the  Third  church. 
Being  left  without  a  pastor,  they  felt  as  if  there  was  great 
danger  that  they  would  be  scattered,  and  perhaps  annihi 
lated  as  a  church,  unless  something  could  be  done  to  revive 
religion  among  them. 

With   these  pressing  invitations  before  me.  I  felt,  as  1 


REVIVAL  IN   BOCHESTEB.  285 

have  cften  done,  greatly  perplexed.  I  remained  at  my 
father-in-law's,  and  considered  the  subject,  until  I  felt  that 
I  must  take  hold  and  work  somewhere.  Accordingly  we 
packed  our  trunks  and  went  down  to  Utica,  about  seven 
miles  distant,  where  I  had  many  praying  friends.  Wd 
arrived  there  in  the  afternoon,  and  in  the  evening  quite 
a  number  of  the  leading  brethren,  in  whose  prayers  and 
wisdom  I  had  a  great  deal  of  confidence,  at  my  request  met 
for  consultation  and  prayer,  in  regard  to  my  next  field  of 
labor.  I  laid  all  the  facts  before  them  in  regard  to  Roch 
ester;  and  so  far  as  I  was  acquainted  with  them,  the 
leading  facts  in  respect  to  the  other  fields  to  which  I  was 
invited  at  that  time.  Rochester  seemed  to  be  the  least 
inviting  of  them  all. 

After  talking  the  matter  all  over,  and  having  several 
seasons  of  prayer,  interspersed  with  conversation,  the  breth 
ren  gave  their  opinions  one  after  another,  in  relation  to  what 
they  thought  it  wise  for  me  to  do.  They  were  unanimous 
in  the  opinion  that  Rochester  was  too  uninviting  a  field  of 
labor,  to  be  put  at  all  in  competition  with  New  York,  or 
Philadelphia,  and  some  other  fields  to  which  I  was  then 
invited.  They  were  firm  in  the  conviction  that  I  should  go 
east  from  Utica,  and  not  west.  At  the  time,  this  was  my 
own  impression  and  conviction  ;  and  I  retired  from  this  meet 
ing,  as  I  supposed,  settled  not  to  go  to  Rochester,  but  to  New 
York  or  Philadelphia.  This  was  before  railroads  existed ; 
and  when  we  parted  that  evening  I  expected  to  taks  the 
canal  boat,  which  was  the  most  convenient  way  for  a  family 
to  travel,  and  start  in  the  morning  for  New  York. 

But  after  I  retired  to  iny  lodging  the  question  was  pre 
sented  to  my  mind  under  a  different  aspect.  Something 
seemed  to  question  me  :  "  What  are  the  reasons  that  deter 
you  from  going  to  Rochester  ?  "  I  could  readily  enumerate 
them,  but  then  the  question  returned  :  "  Ah  !  but  are  these 
good  reasons  ?  Certainly  you  are  needed  at  Rochester  all 
the  more  because  of  these  difficulties.  Do  vou  shun  the 


286  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G.    FINKEY. 

field  because  there  are  so  many  things  that  need  to  be  cor 
rected,  because  there  is  so  much  that  is  wrong  ?  But  if  ali 
was  right,  you  would  not  be  needed."  I  soon  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  we  were  all  wrong  ;  and  that  the  reasons 
that  had  determined  us  against  my  going  to  Rochester,  were 
the  most  cogent  reasons  for  my  going  I  felt  ashamed  to 
shrink  from  undeitaking  the  work  because  of  its  difficulties  ; 
and  it  was  strongly  impressed  upon  me,  that  the  Lord  would 
be  with  me,  and  that  that  was  my  field.  My  mind  became 
entirely  decided,  before  I  retired  to  rest,  that  Rochester  was 
«he  place  to  which  the  Lord  would  have  me  go.  I  informed 
my  wife  of  my  decision  ;  and  accordingly,  early  in  the  morn 
ing,  before  the  people  were  generally  moving  in  the  city,  the 
packet  boat  came  along,  and  we  embarked  and  went  west 
ward  instead  of  eastward. 

The  brethren  in  Utica  were  greatly  surprised  when  they 
learned  of  this  change  in  our  destination,  and  awaited  the 
result  with  a  good  deal  of  solicitude. 

We  arrived  in  Rochester  early  in  the  morning,  and  were 
invited  to  take  up  our  lodgings  for  the  time  with  Mr. 
Josiah  Bissell,  who  was  the  leading  elder  in  the  Third 
church,  and  who  was  the  person  that  had  complained  to 
the  presbytery  respecting  Dr.  Penny.  On  my  arnval  I  met 

my  cousin,  Mr.  S ,  in  the  street,  who  invited  me  to  his 

house.  He  was  an  elder  in  the  First  church,  and  hearing 
that  I  was  expected  at  Rochester,  was  very  anxious  to  have 
his  pastor,  Dr.  Penny,  meet  and  converse  with  me,  and  be 
prepared  to  co-operate  with  me  in  my  labors.  I  declined 
his  kind  invitation,  informing  him  that  I  was  to  be  the  guest 
of  Mr.  Bissell.  But  he  called  on  me  again  after  breakfast^ 
and  informed  me  that  he  had  arranged  an  interview  be 
tween  myself  and  Dr.  Penny,  at  his  house,  I  hastened  to 
meet  the  doctor,  and  we  had  a  cheering  Christian  interview. 
When  I  commenced  my  labors,  Dr.  Penny  attended  our 

meetings,   and   soon   invited  me   to  his  pulpit.    Mr.  S 

exerted  himself   to  Dring  about  a  good  understanding  be- 


BBTIYAL  IN   ROCHESTER,  287 

sween  the  pastors  and  churches,  and  a  great  change  soon 
manifested  itself  in  the  attitude  and  spiritual  state  of  the 
churches. 

There  were  very  soon  some  yery  mailed  conversions 
The  wife  of  a  prominent  lawyer  in  that  city  was  one  ,t  the 
first  converts.  She  was  a  woman  of  hig^  standing,  a  lady 
of  culture  and  extensive  influence.  Hei  conversion  was  a 
very  marked  one.  The  first  that  I  saw  her,  a  friend  of  hers 
came  with  her  to  my  room,  and  introduced  her.  The  lady 
who  introduced  her  was  a  Christian  woman,  who  had  found 
that  she  was  very  much  exercised  in  her  mind,  and  per 
suaded  her  to  come  and  see  me. 

Mrs.  M had  been  a  gay,  worldly  woman,  and  very 

fond  of  society.  She  afterward  told  me  that  when  I  first 
came  there,  she  greatly  regretted  it,  ana  feared  there  would 
be  a  revival ;  and  a  revival  would  greatly  interfere  with  the 
pleasures  and  amusements  that  she  had  promised  herself  that 
winter.  On  conversing  with  her  I  found  that  the  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  was  indeed  dealing  with  her,  in  an  unsparing  man 
ner.  She  was  bowed  down  with  great  conviction  of  sin. 
After  considerable  conversation  with  her,  I  pressed  her  ear 
nestly  to  renounce  sin,  and  the  world,  and  self,  and  every 
thing  for  Christ.  I  saw  that  she  was  a  very  proud  woman, 
and  this  struck  me  as  rather  the  most  marked  feature  of  her 
character.  At  the  conclusion  of  our  conversation  we  knelt 
down  to  pray ;  and  my  mind  being  full  of  the  subject  of  the 
pride  of  her  heart,  as  it  was  manifested,  I  very  soon  intro 
duced  the  text :  "Except  ye  be  converted  and  become  as  lit 
tle  children,  ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven. "  I  turned  this  subject  over  in  prayer  ;  and  almost 

immediately  I  heard  Mrs.  M ,  as  she  was  kneeling  by  my 

side,  repeating  that  text :  ( '  Except  ye  be  converted  and 
become  as  little  children  —  as  little  children  —  Except 
ye  be  converted  and  become  as  little  children."  I  observed 
that  her  mind  was  taken  with  that,  and  the  Spirit  of  God 
was  pressing  it  upon  her  heart.  I  therefore  continued  to 


MEMOIRS  OF  CHARLES  6.    PUTNEY. 

pray,  holding  that  subject  before  her  mind,  and  holding  he* 
up  before  God  as  needing  that  very  thing,  to  be  converted — 
to  become  as  a  little  child. 

I  felt  that  the  Lord  was  answering  prayer.  1  felt  sure 
that  he  was  doing  the  very  work  that  I  asked  him  to  do. 
Her  heart  broke  down,  her  sensibility  gushed  forth,  and 
before  we  rose  from  our  knees,  she  was  indeed  a  little  child. 
When  I  stopped  praying,  and  opened  my  eyes  and  looked  at 
her,  her  face  was  turned  up  toward  heaven,  and  the  tears 
streaming  down  ;  and  she  was  in  the  attitude  of  praying  that 
she  might  be  made  a  little  child.  She  rose  up  became 
peaceful,  settled  into  a  joyous  faith,  and  retired.  From  that 
moment  she  was  out-spoken  in  her  religious  convictions,  and 
zealous  for  the  conversion  of  her  friends.  Her  conversion, 
of  course,  produced  much  excitement  among  that  class  of 
people  to  which  she  belonged. 

I  had  never,  I  believe,  except  in  rare  instances,  until  1 
went  to  Rochester,  used  as  a  means  of  promoting  revivals, 
what  has  since  been  called  "  the  anxious  seat."  I  had  some 
times  asked  persons  in  the  congregation  to  stand  up  ;  but 
this  I  had  not  frequently  done.  However,  in  studying 
upon  the  subject,  I  had  often  felt  the  necessity  of  some  meas 
ure  that  would  bring  sinners  to  a  stand.  From  my  owr 
experience  and  observation  I  had  found,  that  with  the 
higher  classes  especially,  the  greatest  obstacle  to  be  overcome 
was  their  fear  of  being  known  as  anxious  inquirers.  They 
were  too  proud  to  take  any  position  that  would  reveal  them 
to  others  as  anxious  for  their  souls. 

I  had  found  also  that  something  was  needed,  to  makt 
the  impression  on  them  that  they  were  expected  at  once  tc 
give  up  their  hearts  ;  something  that  would  call  them  to  aci, 
and  act  as  publicly  before  the  world,  as  they  had  in  thfir 
sins ;  something  that  would  commit  them  publicly  to  the 
service  of  Christ.  When  I  had  called  them  simply  to  stand 
up  in  the  public  congregation,  I  found  that  this  had  a  very 
good  effect :  and  so  far  as  it  went,  it  answered  the  purpose  for 


BBVIVAL  IK   ROCHESTEB.  289 

which  it  was  intended.  But  after  all,  I  had  felt  for  some 
time,  that  something  more  was  necessary  to  bring  them  out 
from  among  the  mass  of  the  ungodly,  to  a  public  renuncia 
tion  of  their  sinful  ways,  and  a  public  committal  of  them 
selves  to  God. 

At  Rochester,  if  I  recollect  right,  I  first  introduced  this 
measure.  This  was  years  after  the  cry  had  been  raised  of 
"new  measures."  A  few  days  after  the  conversion  of  Mrs. 

M ,  I  made  a  call,  I  think  for  the  first  time,  upon  all 

that  class  of  persons  whose  convictions  were  so  ripe  that 
they  were  willing  to  renounce  their  sins  and  give  themselves 
to  God,  to  come  forward  to  certain  seats  which  I  requested 
to  be  vacated,  and  offer  themselves  up  to  God,  while  we  made 
them  subjects  of  prayer.  A  much  larger  number  came  for 
ward  than  I  expected,  and  among  them  was  another  promi 
nent  lady  ;  and  several  others  of  her  acquaintance,  and 
belonging  to  the  same  circle  of  society,  came  forward.  This 
increased  the  interest  among  that  class  of  people  ;  and  it 
was  soon  seen  that  the  Lord  was  aiming  at  the  conversion  o* 
the  highest  classes  of  society.  My  meetings  soon  became 
thronged  with  that  class.  The  lawyers,  physicians,  mer 
chants,  and  indeed  all  the  most  intelligent  people,  became 
more  and  more  interested,  and  more  and  more  easily  in 
fluenced. 

Very  soon  the  work  took  effect,  extensively,  among  the 
lawyers  in  that  city.  There  has  always  been  a  large  number 
of  the  leading  lawyers  of  the  state,  resident  at  Rochester. 
The  work  soon  got  hold  of  numbers  of  these.  They  be 
came  very  anxious,  and  came  freely  to  our  meetings  of 
inquiry  ;  and  numbers  of  them  came  forward  to  the  anxious 
geat>  as  it  has  since  been  called,  and  publicly  gave  their 
hearts  to  God.  I  recollect  one  evening  after  preaching, 
three  of  them  followed  me  to  my  room,  all  of  them  deeply 
convicted  ;  and  all  of  them  had  been,  I  believe,  on  the  anx 
ious  seat,  but  were  not  clear  in  their  minds,  and  felt  that 
fchev  could  not  go  home  until  they  were  convinced  their 
12 


290  MBMOIBS  OF  CHARLES  G 


peace  was  made  witli  God.  I  conversed  with  them,  and 
prayed  with  them  ;  and  I  believe,  before  they  "aft,  they  all 
found  peace  in  believing  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

I  should  have  said  that  very  soon  after  the  work  com 
menced,  the  difficulties  between  Mr.  Bissell  and  Dr.  Penny 
were  healed;  and  all  the  distractions  and  collisions  that  had 
existed  there  were  adjusted  ;  so  that  a  spirit  of  universal 
kindness  and  fellowship  prevaded  all  the  churches. 

On  one  occasion  I  had  an  appointment  in  the  First 
church.  There  had  been  a  military  parade  in  the  city  that 
day.  The  militia  had  been  called  out,  and  I  had  feared  that 
the  excitement  of  the  parade  might  divert  the  attention  of 
the  people,  and  mar  the  work  of  the  Lord.  The  house  was 
filled  in  every  part.  Dr.  Penny  had  introduced  the  services, 
and  was  engaged  in  the  first  prayer,when  I  heard  something 
which  I  supposed  to  be  the  report  of  a  gun,  and  the  jingling 
of  glass,  as  if  a  window  had  been  broken.  My  thought  was 
that  some  careless  person  from  the  military  parade  on  the 
outside,had  fired  so  near  the  window  as  to  break  a  pane  of 
glass.  But  before  I  had  time  to  think  again,  Dr.  Penny 
leaped  from  the  pulpit  almost  over  me,  for  I  was  kneeling 
by  the  sofa  behind  him.  The  pulpit  was  in  the  front  of  the 
church,between  the  two  doors.  The  rear  wall  of  the  chuch 
etood  upon  the  brink  of  the  canal.  The  congregation,  in  a 
moment,  fell  into  a  perfect  panic,and  rushed  for  the  doow 
and  the  windows,  as  if  they  were  all  distracted  One  elderly 
woman  held  up  a  window  in  the  rear  of  the  church,  where 
several,  as  I  was  informed,  leaped  out  into  the  canal.  Th<* 
rush  was  terrific.  Some  jumped  over  the  galleries  into  the 
aisles  below  ;  they  ran  over  each  other  in  the  aisles. 

I  stood  up  in  the  pulpit,  and  not  knowing  what  had 
happened,  put  up  my  hands,  and  cried  at  the  top  of  my 
voice,  "Be  quiet  !  Be  quiet  1"  Directly  a  couple  of  women 
rushing  up  into  the  pulpit,  one  on  the  one  side,  and  the 
other  on  the  other  side,  caught  hold  of  me,  in  a  state  of 
distraction.  Dr,  Penny  ran  out  into  the  streets,  and  they 


ftEVIVAL   IN    ROCHESTER.  291 

were  getting  out  in  every  direction,  as  fast  as  possible.  AB 
I  did  not  know  that  there  was  any  danger,  the  scene  looked 
so  ludicrous  to  me,  that  I  could  scarcely  refrain  from  laugh 
ing.  They  rushed  over  each  other  in  the  aisles,  so  that  in 
several  instances  I  observed  men  that  had  been  crushed 
down,  rising  up  and  throwing  off  others  that  had  rushed 
upon  them.  All  at  length  got  out.  Several  were  consider 
ably  hurt,  but  no  one  killed.  But  the  house  was  strewn 
with  all  sorts  of  women's  apparel.  Bonnets,  shawls,  gloves, 
handkerchiefs,  and  parts  of  dresses,  were  scattered  in  every 
direction.  The  men  had  very  generally  gone  out  without 
their  hats,  I  believe  ;  and  many  persons  had  been  seriously 
bruised  in  the  awful  rush. 

I  afterwards  learned  that  the  walls  of  the  church  had 
been  settling  for  some  time,  the  ground  being  very  damp 
from  its  proximity  to  the  canal.  It  had  been  spoken  of,  in 
the  congregation,  as  not  in  a  satisfactory  state ;  and  some 
were  afraid  that  either  the  tower  would  fall,  or  the  roof,  or 
the  walls  of  the  building  would  come  down.  Of  this  I  had 
heard  nothing  myself.  The  original  alarm  was  created  by  a 
timber  from  the  roof,  falling  end  downwards,  and  breaking 
through  the  ceiling,  above  the  lamp  in  front  of  the  organ. 

On  examining  the  house,  it  was  found  that  the  walls  had 
spread  in  such  a  manner,  that  there  was  indeed  danger  of  the 
roof  falling  in.  The  pressure  that  night  in  the  gallery  was 
so  great  as  to  spread  the  walls  on  each  side,  until  there  was 
real  danger.  At  the  time  this  occurred,  I  greatly  feared,  as 
I  suppose  others  did,  that  the  public  attention  would  be 
diverted,  and  the  work  greatly  hindered.  But  the  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  had  taken  hold  of  the  work  in  earnest,  and  noth 
ing  seemed  to  stay  it. 

The  Brick  church  was  thrown  open  to  us,  and  from  that 
time  our  meetings  alternated  between  the  Second  and  Third 
churches,  the  people  of  the  First  church  and  congregation 
attending  as  far  as  they  could  get  into  the  house.  The  three 
churches,  and  indeed  Christians  of  every  denominatior 


292  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G. 

generally,  seemed  to  make  common  cause,  and  went  to  wori 
with  a  will,  to  pull  sinners  out  of  the  fire.  We  were  obliged 
to  hold  meetings  almost  continually.  I  preached  nearly 
every  night,  and  three  times  on  the  Sabbath.  We  held  our 
meetings  of  inquiry,  after  the  work  took  on  such  a  powerful 
type,  very  frequently  in  the  morning. 

One  morning  I  recollect  we  had  been  holding  a  meeting 
of  inquiry,  and  a  gentleman  was  present  and  was  converted 
there,  who  was  the  son-in-law  of  a  very  praying,  godly  woman 
belonging  to  the  Third  church.  She  had  been  very  anxious 
about  him,  and  had  been  spending  much  time  in  prayer  for 
him.  When  he  returned  from  the  meeting  of  inquiry,  he 
was  full  of  joy  and  peace  and  hope.  She  had  been  spend 
ing  the  time  in  earnest  prayer  that  God  would  convert  him 
at  that  meeting.  As  soon  as  she  met  him  and  he  declared 
his  conversion  to  her,  and  from  his  countenance  she  saw  that 
it  was  really  so,  it  overcame  her,  and  she  swooned  away  and 
fell  dead. 

There  was  at  that  time  a  high  school  in  Rochester,  pre 
sided  over  by  a  Mr.  B ,  the  son  of  A B ,  then 

pastor  of  the  church  at  Brighton,  near  Rochester.  Mr. 

B was  a  sceptic,  but  was  at  the  head  of  a  very  large  and 

flourishing  school.  As  the  school  was  made  up  of  both  sexes, 

a  Miss  A was  his  assistant  and  associate  in  the  school,  at 

that  time.  Miss  A was  a  Christian  woman.  The  stu 
dents  attended  the  religious  services,  and  many  of  them  soon 
became  deeply  anxious  about  their  souls.  One  morning  Mr. 
B—  found  that  his  classes  could  not  recite.  When  he 
^ame  to  have  them  before  him,  they  were  so  anxious  about 
heir  souls  that  they  wept,  and  he  saw  that  ^ney  were  in  such 
a  state,  that  it  very  much  confounded  him.  He  called  his 

associate,  Miss  A ,  and  told  her  that  the  young  people 

were  so  exercised  about  their  souls  that  they  could  not  recite  ; 
and  asked  if  they  had  not  better  send  for  Mr.  Finney  to  grve 
them  instruction.  She  afterwards  informed  me  of  this,  and 
said  that  she  was  very  glad  to  have  him  make  the  inquiry 


REVIVAL   IN    ROCHESTER.  '493 

and  most  cordially  advised  him  to  send  for  me.  He  did  so, 
and  the  revival  took  tremendous  hold  of  that  school.  Mr. 

B himself  was  soon  hopefully  converted,  and  nearly 

every  person  in  the  school.  A  few  years  since,  Miss  A 

informed  me  that  more  than  forty  persons,  that  were  then 
converted  in  that  school,  had  become  ministers.  That  was  a 
fact  that  I  had  not  known  before.  She  named  many  ol 
them  to  me  at  the  time.  A  large  number  of  them  had  be 
come  foreign  missionaries. 

After  remaining  a  few  weeks  at  Josiah  Bissell's,  we  took 
lodgings  in  a  more  central  position,  at  the  house  of  Mr. 

B ,  a  lawyer  of  the  city,  who  was  a  professedly  Christian 

man.  His  wife's  sister  was  with  them,  and  was  an  impenitent 
girl.  She  was  a  young  woman  of  fine  appearance,  an  ex 
quisite  singer,  and  a  cultivated  lady  ;  and,  as  we  soon 
learned,  was  engaged  in  marriage  to  a  man,  who  was  then 
judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  state.  He  was  a  very 
proud  man,  and  resisted  the  anxious  seat,  and  spoke  against 
it.  He  was  absent  a  good  deal  from  the  city,  in  holding 
court,  and  was  not  that  winter  converted.  A  large  number 
of  the  lawyers,  however,  were  converted  ;  and  the  young  lady 
to  whom  he  was  engaged  was  converted.  I  mention  this  be 
cause  the  Judge  afterwards  married  her  ;  which  no  doubt 
led  to  his  own  conversion  in  a  revival  which  occurred  somt 
ten  years  later,  the  leading  particulars  of  which  I  shall 
mention  in  another  part  of  my  narrative. 

This  revival  made  a  great  change  in  the  moral  state  and 
subsequent  history  of  Rochester.  The  great  majority  of  ohe 
leading  men  and  women  in  the  city,  were  converted  A 
great  number  of  very  striking  incidents  occurred,  that  I  shall 
not  soon  forget.  One  day  the  lady  who  first  visited  me  and 
whose  conversion  I  have  mentioned,  called  on  me  in  company 
with  a  friend  of  hers  with  whom  she  wished  me  to  converse. 
I  did  so,  but  found  her  to  all  appearance  very  much  hard 
ened,  and  rather  disposed  to  trifle  with  the  subject.  Hei 
husband  was  a  merchant,  and  they  were  persons  of  high 


294  MEMOIRS   OF   CHAKLBS   G.    FINE  i'S. 

standing  in  the  community.  When  I  pressed  her  to  attend 
to  the  subject,  she  said  she  would  not  do  it,  because  her  hus 
band  would  not  attend  to  it,  and  she  was  not  going  to  leave 
him.  I  asked  her  if  she  was  willing  to  be  lost  because  her 
husband  would  not  attend  to  it ;  and  if  it  was  not  folly  to 
neglect  her  soul  because  lie  did  his.  She  replied  very 
promptly,  "  If  he  goes  to  hell,  1  want  to  go.  I  want  to  go 
where  he  does.  I  do  not  want  to  be  separated  from  him,  at 
any  rate."  It  seemed  that  I  could  make  very  little,  if 
any,  impression  upon  her.  But  from  night  to  night  I  had 
been  making  appeals  to  the  congregation,  and  calling  for 
ward  those  that  were  prepared  to  give  their  hearts  to  God  ; 
and  large  numbers  were  converted  every  evening. 

As  I  learned  afterwards,  when  this  woman  went  home, 
her  husband  said  to  her,  "  My  dear,  I  mean  to  go  forward 
to-night,  and  give  my  heart  to  God."  "  What !  "  said  she  ; 
"  I  have  to-day  told  Mr.  Finney  that  I  would  not  become  a 
Christian,  or  have  anything  to  do  with  it ;  that  you  did 
not  become  a  Christian,  &nd  I  would  not ;  and  that  if  you 
went  to  hell,  I  should  go  witn  you."  "  Well,"  said  he,  "  ] 
do  not  mean  to  go  to  hell.  I  have  made  up  my  mind  to  go 
forward  to-night,  and  give  my  heart  to  Christ."  "Well/5 
said  she,  "then  I  will  not  go  to  meeting,  I  do  not  want  to 
see  it.  And  if  you  have  a  mind  after  all,  to  become  a  Chris 
tian,  you  may  ;  I  won't."  When  the  time  came,  he  went  to 
meeting  alone.  The  pulpit  was  between  the  doors,  in  the 
front  of  the  church.  The  house  was  a  good  deal  crowded  ; 
but  he  finally  got  a  seat  neai  one  of  the  aisles,  in  quite  the 
back  part  of  the  church.  At  the  close  of  the  meeting,  as  I 
had  done  at  other  times,  I  called  for  those  that  were  anxious 
and  whose  minds  were  made  up,  to  come  forward,  and  take 
certain  seats  and  occupy  a  certain  space  about  the  pulpit, 
where  we  could  commend  them  to  God  in  prayer.  It  after 
ward  appeared  that  the  wife  herself  had  come  to  the  meeting, 
nad  passed  up  the  other  aisle,  and  taken  a  seat  almost  oppo 
site  him,  in  the  extreme  part  of  the  house.  When  I  made 


&8YIVAL  IK   BOOHBSTEB.  295 

the  call,  he  started  immediately.  She  was  watching,  and  aa 
soon  as  she  saw  him  on  his  feet,  and  making  his  way  along 
the  crowded  aisle,  she  also  started  down  the  other  aisle,  and 
they  met  in  front  of  the  pulpit,  and  knelt  down  together  a? 
subjects  of  prayer. 

A  large  number  obtained  hope  on  the  spot ;  but  thu 
husband  and  wife  did  not.  They  went  home,  too  proud  to 
say  much  to  each  other  about  what  they  had  done,  and 
spent  a  very  restless  night.  The  next  day,  about  ten  o'clock, 
he  called  to  see  me,  and  was  shown  into  my  room.  My 
wife  occupied  a  front  room  on  the  second  floor ;  and  I  a 
room  in  the  rear  on  the  same  floor.  While  I  was  conversing 
with  him,  the  servant  informed  me  that  a  lady  was  waiting 
in  Mrs.  Finnev^s  room  to  see  me.  I  excused  myself  for  a 
few  moments,  and  requested  him  to  wait,  while  I  went  in  to 
see  her.  I  found  that  it  was  the  woman  who  but  the  day 
before  had  been  so  stubborn,  and  the  wife  of  the  man  who 
was  then  in  my  room.  Neither  of  them  knew  that  the 
other  had  called  to  see  me.  I  conversed  with  her,  and 
found  that  she  was  on  the  very  verge  of  submitting  to 
Christ.  I  had  learned  that  he  was  also,  to  all  appearance, 
in  the  same  state.  I  then  returned  to  him  and  said,  "I  am 
going  to  pray  with  a  lady  in  Mrs.  Finney's  room,  and  we  will 
go  in  there,  if  }ou  please,  and  all  join  in  prayer,  together." 
He  followed  me,  and  found  his  own  wife.  They  looked  at 
each  other  with  surprise,  but  were  both  greatly  affected, 
each  to  find  the  other  there.  We  knelt  down  to  pray.  I 
had  not  proceeded  far  in  prayer  before  she  began  to  weep, 
and  to  pray  audibly  for  her  husband.  I  stopped  and  lis 
tened,  and  found  that  she  had  lost  all  concern  for  herself, 
and  was  struggling  in  an  agony  of  prayer  for  his  conversion. 
His  heart  seemed  to  break  and  give  way,  and  just  at  this 
time  the  bell  rang  for  our  dinner.  I  thought  it  would  be 
well  to  leave  them  together  alone.  I  therefore  touched  my 
wife,  and  we  rose  silently  and  went  down  to  dinner,  leaving 
in  praver.  We  took  a  hasty  dinner  and  returned,  and 


296  MEMOIRS   OF   CHA.RT.ES   ». 

found   them  as  mellow,  and  as  humble,  and  as  loving  u 
could  be  desired. 

I  have  not  said  much,  as  yet,  of  the  spirit  of  prayer  that 
prevailed  in  this  revival,  which  I  must  not  omit  to  mention. 
When  I  was  on  my  way  to  Rochester,  as  we  passed  through 
a  village,  some  thirty  miles  east  of  Rochester,  a  brother  min 
ister  whom  I  knew,  seeing  me  on  the  canal-boat,  jumped 
aboard  to  have  a  little  conversation  with  me,  intending  to 
ride  but  a  little  way  and  return.  He,  however,  became  inter 
ested  in  conversation,  and  upon  finding  where  I  was  going, 
he  made  up  his  mind  to  keep  on  and  go  with  me  to  Roches 
ter.  We  had  been  there  but  a  few  days  when  this  minister 
became  so  convicted  that  he  could  not  help  weeping  aloud,  at 
one  time,  as  he  passed  along  the  street.  The  Lord  gave  him 
a  powerful  spirit  of  prayer,  and  his  heart  was  broken.  As 
he  and  I  prayed  much  together,  1  «^as  struck  with  his  faith 
in  regard  to  what  the  Lord  was  going  to  do  there.  I  recol 
lect  he  would  say,  "  Lord,  I  do  not  know  how  it  is  ;  but  I 
seem  to  know  that  thou  art  going  to  do  a  great  work  in  this 
city."  The  spirit  of  prayer  was  poured  out  powerfully,  so 
much  so,  that  some  persons  stayed  away  from  the  public  ser 
vices  to  pray,  being  unable  to  restrain  their  feelings  under 
preaching. 

And  here  I  must  introduce  the  name  of  a  man,  whom  I 
shall  have  occasion  to  mention  frequently,  Mr.  Abel  Clary. 
He  was  the  son  of  a  very  excellent  man,  and  an  elder  of  the 
church  where  I  was  converted.  He  was  converted  in  the 
same  revival  in  which  I  was.  He  had  been  licensed  fcc 
preach ;  but  his  spirit  of  prayer  was  such,  he  was  so  bur 
dened  with  the  souls  of  men,  that  he  was  not  able  to  preac*1 
much,  his  whole  time  and  strength  being  given  to  prayer 
The  burden  of  his  soul  would  frequently  be  so  great  that  h« 
was  unable  to  stand,  and  he  would  writhe  and  groan  in 
agony.  I  was  well  acquainted  with  him,  and  knew  some 
thing  of  the  wonderful  spirit  of  prayer  that  was  upon  him 


JUT   JKOCHESiJfiK.  #JK 

He  was  a  very  silent  man,  as  almost  all  are  who  have  that 
powerful  spirit  of  prayer. 

The  first  I  knew  of  his  being  at  Rochester,  a  gentleman 
who  lived  about  a  mile  west  of  the  city,  called  on  me  one  day, 
and  asked  me  if  I  knew  a  Mr.  Abel  Clary,  a  minister.  I  told 
him  that  I  knew  him  well.  "  Well,"  said  he,  "he  is  at  my 
house,  and  has  been  there  for  some  time,  and  I  don't  know 
what  to  think  of  him."  I  said,  *•  I  have  not  seen  him  at  any 
of  our  meetings.  "  No,"  he  replied,  "  he  cannot  go  to  meet 
ing,  he  says.  He  prays  nearly  all  the  time,  day  and  night, 
and  in  such  an  agony  of  mind  that  I  do  not  know  what  to 
make  of  it.  Sometimes  he  cannot  even  stand  on  his  knees, 
but  will  lie  prostrate  on  the  floor,  and  groan  and  pray  in  a 
manner  that  quite  astonishes  me."  I  said  to  the  brotner, 
"  I  understand  it ;  please  keep  still.  It  will  all  come  out 
right ;  he  will  surely  prevail. " 

I  knew  at  the  time  a  considerable  number  of  men  who 

were  exercised  in  the  same  way.  A  Deacon  P ,  of 

Oamden,  Oneida  county  ;  a  Deacon  T ,  of  Rodman, 

Jefferson  county  ;  a  Deacon  B ,  of  Adams,  in  the  same 

county  ;  this  Mr.  Clary,  and  many  others  among  the  men, 
and  a  large  nunioer  of  women,  partook  of  the  same  spirit, 
and  spent  a  great  part  of  their  time  in  prayer.  Father 
Nash,  as  we  called  him,  who  in  several  of  my  fields  of  labor 
came  to  me  and  aided  me,  was  another  of  those  men  that 
had  such  a  powerful  spirit  of  prevailing  prayer.  This  Mr. 
Clary  continued  in  Rochester  as  long  as  I  did,  and  did  not 
leave  it  until  after  I  had  left.  He  never,  that  I  could  learn, 
appeared  in  public,  but  gave  himself  wholly  to  prayer. 

I  have  said  that  the  moral  aspect  of  things  was  greatly 
changed  by  this  revival.  It  was  a  young  city,  full  of  thrift 
and  enterprise,  and  full  of  sin.  The  inhabitants  were  intel 
ligent  and  enterprising,  in  the  highest  degree  ;  but  as  the 
revival  swept  through  the  town,  and  converted  the  great 
of  the  most  influential  people,  both  men  and  women, 
13* 


MEMOIRS  OP   CHARLES   G.    FIETifBY. 

the  change  in  the  order,  sobriety,  and  morality  of  the  citrj 
was  wonderful. 

At  a  subsequent  period,  which  I  shall  mention  in  its 
place,  I  was  conyersing  with  a  lawyer,  who  was  converted  at 
this  revival  of  which  I  have  been  speaking,  and  who  soon 
after  had  been  made  district  attorney  of  the  city.  His 
business  was  to  superintend  the  prosecution  of  criminals. 
Prom  his  position  he  was  made  thoroughly  accquainted  with 
the  history  of  crime  in  that  city.  In  speaking  of  the  revival 
in  which  he  was  converted,  he  said  to  me,  many  years  after 
ward  .  "I  have  been  examining  the  records  of  the  criminii 
courts,  and  I  find  this  striking  fact,  that  whereas  our  city 
has  increased  since  that  revival,  three-fold,  there  are  not  one- 
third  as  many  prosecutions  for  crime,  as  there  had  been  up 
to  that  time.  This  is,"  he  said,  "  the  wonderful  influence 
that  that  revival  had  upon  the  community."  Indeed  by 
the  power  of  that  revival,  public  sentiment  has  been  molded. 
The  public  affairs  of  the  city  have  been,  in  a  great  measure 
in  the  hands  of  Christian  men ;  and  the  controlling  in 
fluences  in  the  community  have  been  on  the  side  of  Christ. 

Among  other  conversions  I  must  not  forget  to  mention 
that  of  Mr.  P ,  a  prominent  citizen  of  that  place,  a  book 
seller.  Mr.  P was  an  infidel ;  not  an  atheist,  but  a  dis 
believer  in  the  divine  authority  of  the  Bible.  He  was  a 
reader  and  a  thinker,  a  man  of  keen,  shrewd  nimd,  strong 
will,  and  most  decided  character  He  was,  I  believe,  a  mas 
of  good  outward  morals,  and  &  gentleman  highly  respected. 
He  came  to  my  room  early  one  morning,  and  said  to  me, 
"  Mr.  Finney,  there  is  a  great  movement  here  on  the  subject 
of  religion; but  I  am  a  sceptic,  and  I  want  you  to  prove  V3 
me  that  the  Bible  istiue."  The  Lord  enabled  me  at  once 
to  discern  his  state  of  mind,  so  far  as  to  decide  the  course  I 
should  take  with  him.  I  said  to  him,  "  Do  you  believe  in 
the  existence  of  G-od  ?"  "0  yes  !"  he  said,  "  I  am  not 
an  atheist."  "  Well,  do  you  believe  that  you  have  treated 
G-od  as  you  ought  ?  Have  you  respected  his  authoricy  ? 


ttEVIVAL  IN   ROCHESTER.  $99 

Have  you  loved  him  ?  Have  you  done  that  which  you 
thought  would  please  him,  and  with  the  design  to  please 
him  ?  Don't  you  admit  that  you  ought  to  love  him,  and 
ought  to  worship  him,  and  ought  to  obey  him,  according  to 
the  best  light  you  have  ?  "  "  0  yes  ! "  he  said,  "  I  admit  all 
this."  "  But  have  you  done  so  ?"  I  asked.  "Why,  no," 
he  answered,  "I  cannot  say  that  I  have."  "  Well  then," 
I  replied,  "  why  should  I  give  you  farther  information,  and 
farther  light,  if  you  will  not  do  your  duty  and  obey  the  light 
you  already  have  ?  Now,"  said  I,  "  when  you  will  make 
up  your  mind  to  live  up  to  your  convictions,  to  obey  God 
according  to  the  best  light  you  have  ;  when  you  will  make 
up  your  mind  to  repent  of  your  neglect  thus  far,  and  to 
please  God  just  as  well  as  you  know  how,  the  rest  of  your 
life,  I  will  try  to  show  you  that  the  Bible  is  from  God. 
Until  then  it  is  of  no  use  for  me  to  do  any  such  thing."  I 
did  not  sit  down,  and  I  think  had  not  asked  him  to  sit 
down.  He  replied,  t(  I  do  not  know  but  that  is  fair  ; :>  and 
retired. 

I  heard  no  more  of  him  until  the  next  morning.  Soon 
after  I  arose,  he  came  to  my  room  again  ;  and  as  soon  as  he 
entered,  he  clapped  his  hands  and  said,  "  Mr.  Finney,  God 
has  wrought  a  miracle  !  "  "I  went  down  to  the  store,"  he 
continued,  "after  1  left  your  room,  thinking  of  what  you 
had  said  ;  and  I  made  ap  my  mind  that  I  would  repent  of 
what  I  knew  was  wrong  in  my  relations  to  God,  and  that 
hereafter  I  would  live  according  to  the  best  light  I  had. 
And  when  I  made  up  my  mind  to  this,"  said  he,  "  my  feel 
ings  so  overcame  me  that  I  fell ;  and  I  do  not  know  but  1 

should  have  died,  if  it  had  not  been  for  Mr.  ,  who  was 

with  me  in  the  store.''  From  this  time  he  has  been,  as  all 
who  know  him  are  aware,  a  praying,  earnest  Christian  man. 
For  many  years  he  has  been  one  of  the  trustees  of  Oberlin 
College,  has  stood  by  us  through  all  our  trials,  and  has  aided 
as  with  his  means  and  his  whole  influence. 

During  this  great  revival,  persons  wrote  letters  from 


300  1CEMOIRS   OP   CHARLES   G.    FLOTE7. 

.Rochester,  to  their  friends  abroad,  giving  an  account  of  the 
work,  which  were  read  in  different  churches  throughout  sev 
eral  states,  and  were  instrumental  in  producing  great  revivals 
of  religion.  Many  persons  came  in  from  abroad  to  witness 
the  great  work  of  God,  and  were  converted.  I  recollect  that 
a  physician  was  so  attracted  by  what  he  heird  of  the  work, 
that  he  came  from  Newark,  New  Jersey,  to  Eochester,  to  see 
what  the  Lord  was  doing,  and  was  himself  converted  there. 
He  was  a  man  of  talents  and  high  culture,  and  has  been  for 
years  an  ardent  Christian  laborer  for  immortal  souls. 

One  evening,  I  recollect,  when  I  made  a  call  for  the  anx 
ious  to  come  forward  and  submit,  a  man  of  influence  in  a 
neighboring  town  came  forward  himself,  and  several  mem 
bers  of  his  family,  and  gave  themselves  to  God.  Indeed,  the 
work  spread  like  waves  in  every  direction.  I  preached  in  as 
many  places  round  about,  as  I  ha. ;  time  and  strength  to  do, 
while  my  main  labors  were  in  Rochester.  I  went  to  Canan- 
daigua  and  preached  several  times.  There  the  word  took 
effect,  and  many  were  converted.  The  pastor,  Rev.  Anse^ 
Eddy,  entered  heartily  into  the  work.  A  former  pastor,  an 
elderly  man,  an  Englishman  by  birth,  also  did  what  he  could 
to  forward  the  work.  Wherever  I  went,  the  word  of  God 
took  immediate  effect ;  and  it  seemed  only  necessary  to  pre 
sent  the  law  of  God,  and  the  claims  of  Christ,  in  such  rela 
tions  and  proportions  as  were  calculated  to  secure  the  con 
version  of  men,  and  they  would  be  converted  by  scores. 

The  greatness  of  the  work  at  Rochester,  at  that  time, 
attracted  so  much  of  the  attention  of  ministers  and  Christians 
throughout  the  State  of  New  York,  throughout  New  Eng 
land,  and  in  many  parts  of  the  United  States,  that  the  very 
fame  of  it  was  an  efficient  instrument  in  the  hands  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  in  promoting  the  greatest  revival  of  religion 
throughout  the  land,  that  this  country  had  then  erer  wit 
nessed.  Years  after  this,  in  conversing  with  Dr.  Beecher 
about  this  powerful  revival  and  its  results,  he  remarked : 
"That  was  the  greatest  work  of  God,  and  the  greatest 


REVIVAL  IN    ROCHESTER  301 

revival  of  religion,  that  the  world  has  ever  seen,  in  so  short  a 
time.  One  hundred  thousand,"  he  remarked,  "  were  reported 
as  having  connected  themselves  with  churches,  as  the  results 
of  that  great  revival.  This,"  he  said,  "  is  unparalleled  in  fche 
history  of  the  church,  and  of  the  progress  of  religion."  He 
spoke  of  this  having  been  done  in  one  year  ;  and  said  that  in 
no  year  during  the  Christian  era,  had  we  any  account  of  so 
reat  a^evival  of  religion. 

Prom  the  time  of  the  New  Lebanon  convention,  of  which 
I  have  spoken,  open  and  public  opposition  to  revivals  of 
religion  was  less  and  less  manifested,  and  especially  did  I 
meet  with  much  less  personal  opposition  than  I  had  met  with 
before.  It  gradually  but  greatly  subsided.  At  Rochester  I 
felt  nothing  of  it  Indeed  the  waters  ol  sa1  Cation  had  risen 
so  high,  revivals  had  become  so  powerful  and  extensive,  and 
people  had  had  time  to  become  acquainted  with  them  and 
their  results,  in  such  measure,  that  men  were  afraid  to  op 
pose  them  as  they  had  done.  Ministers  had  come  to  under 
stand  them  better,  and  the  most  nagodly  sinners  had  been 
convinced  that  they  were  indeed  the  work  of  God.  So  man 
ifestly  were  the  great  mass  of  the  conversions  sound,  the 
converts  really  regenerated  and  made  new  creatures,  so 
thoroughly  were  individuals  and  whole  communities  re- 
formed,  and  so  permanent  and  unquestionable  were  the 
results,  that  the  conviction  becrir»ie  nearly  universal,  that 
fchey  were  the  work  of  God 


CHAPTER   XX1L 

IN    AUBURN,    BUFFALO,    PROVIDENCE,    ABTP 
BOSTON. 

DURING  the  latter  part  of  the  time  that  I  was  rt 
Rochester,  my  health  was  poor.  I  was  overdone  ;  and 
some  of  the  leading  physicians,  I  learned,  had  made  up  theii 
minds  that  I  never  would  preach  any  more.  My  labors  in 
Rochester  at  that  time,  had  continued  through  six  months  ; 
and  near  their  close,  Rev.  Dr.  Wisner,  of  Ithaca,  came  down 
tnd  spent  some  time,  witnessing  and  helping  forward  the 
work.  In  the  meantime,  I  was  invited  to  many  fields  ;  and 
among  others  I  was  urged  by  Dr.  Nott,  president  of  Union 
College,  at  Schenectady,  to  go  and  labor  with  him,  and  if 
possible  secure  the  conversion  of  his  numerous  students.  1 
made  up  my  mind  to  comply  with  his  request. 

In  company  with  Dr.  Wisner  and  Josiah  Bissell,  I  started 
in  the  stage,  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1831,  when  the  going 
was  exceedingly  bad.  I  left  my  wife  and  children  for  the 
time  at  Rochester  ;  as  the  travelling  was  too  dangerous,  and 
the  journey  too  fatiguing  for  them.  When  we  arrived  at 
Geneva,  Dr.  Wisner  insisted  on  my  going  home  with  him,  to 
rest  awhile.  I  declined,  and  said  I  must  keep  about  my 
work.  He  pressed  me  very  hard  to  go  ;  and  finally  told  me 
that  the  physicians  in  Rochester  had  told  him  to  take  me 
home  with  him,  for  I  was  going  to  die ;  that  I  would  never 
labor  any  more  in  revivals,  for  I  had  the  consumption,  and 
could  live  but  a  little  while.  I  replied  that  I  had  been  told 
<-his  before,  but  that  it  was  a  mistake  ;  that  the  doctors  did 
not  understand  my  case  ;  that  I  was  only  fatigued,  and  a 
little  rest  would  bring  me  up. 

Dr.  Wisner  finally  gave  up  his  importunity,  and  I  passed 


BIVIVAL  nr  AUBUBH.  808 

on  in  the  stage  to  Auburn.  The  going  was  so  very  bad,  that 
sometimes  we  could  not  get  on  more  than  two  miles  an  hour, 
and  we  had  been  two  or  three  days  in  going  from  Rochester 
to  Auburn.  As  I  had  many  dear  friends  in  Auburn,  and 
was  very  much  fatigued,  I  made  up  my  mind  to  stop  there, 
and  rest  till  the  next  stage.  1  had  paid  my  fare  quite 
through  to  Schenectady ;  but  could  stop  over,  if  I  chose, 

for  one  or  more  days.  I  stopped  at  the  house  of  Mr.  T 

S ,  a  son  of  Chief -Justice  S .  He  was  an  earnest 

Christian  man,  and  a  very  dear  friend  of  mine  ;  consequently 
I  went  to  his  house,  instead  of  stopping  at  the  hotel,  and 
concluded  to  rest  there  till  tne  next  stage. 

In  the  morning,  after  sleeping  quietly  at  Mr.  S 's,  1 

had  risen,  and  was  preparing  to  take  the  stage,  which  was  to 
arrive  in  the  early  part  of  the  day,  when  a  gentleman  came 
in  with  the  request  for  me  to  remain — a  request  in  writing, 
signed  by  that  large  number  of  influential  men,  of  whom  I 
have  spoken  before,  as  resisting  the  revival  in  that  place  in 
1826.  These  men  had  set  themselves  against  the  revival,  on 
the  former  occasion,  and  carried  their  opposition  so  far  as  to 
break  from  Dr.  Lansing's  congregation,  and  form  a  new  one. 
In  the  meantime,  Dr.  Lansing  had  been  called  to  another 
field  of  labor  ;  and  Rev.  Josiah  Hopkint,  of  Vermont,  wab 
settled  as  pastor  of  the  First  church.  The  paper  to  which  I 
have  alluded,  contained  an  earnest  appeal  to  me  to  stop  and 
labor  for  their  salvation,  signed  by  a  long  list  of  unconverted 
men,  most  of  them  among  the  most  prominent  citizens  in 
the  city.  This  was  very  striking  to  me.  In  this  paper  they 
alluded  to  the  opposition  they  had  formerly  made  to  my 
labors,  and  besought  me  to  overlook  it,  and  stop  and  preach 
the  Gospel  to  them. 

This  request  did  not  come  from  the  pastor,  nor  from  his 
cnurch,  but  from  those  who  had  formerly  led  in  the  opposi 
tion  to  the  work.  But  the  pastor  and  the  members  of  his 
church  pressed  me  with  all  their  influence,  to  remain  and 
preach,  and  comply  with  the  request  of  these  men.  The? 


804  MEMOIRS  OF  CHARLES  G.    FUSTNET. 

appeared  as  much  surprised  as  I  was  myself,  at  the  change  IB 
the  attitude  of  those  men.  I  went  to  my  room,  and  spread 
the  subject  before  God,  and  soon  made  up  my  mind  what  to 
io.  I  told  the  pastor  and  his  elders  that  I  was  yery  much 
fatigued,  and  nearly  worn  out ;  but  that  upon  certain  con 
ditions  I  would  remain.  I  would  preach  twice  upon  the 
Sabbath,  and  two  evenings  during  the  week  ;  but  that  they 
should  take  all  the  rest  of  the  labor  upon  their  own  hands ; 
that  they  must  not  expect  me  to  attend  any  other  meetings 
than  those  at  which  I  preached  ;  and  that  they  must  take 
upon  themselves  the  labor  of  instructing  inquirers,  and  con 
ducting  the  prayer  and  other  meetings.  I  knew  that  they 
understood  how  to  labor  with  sinners,  and  could  well  trust 
them  to  perform  that  part  of  the  work.  I  furthermore  stip 
ulated  that  neither  they  nor  their  people  should  visit  me, 
except  in  extreme  cases,  at  my  lodgings ;  for  that  I  must 
have  my  days,  Sundays  excepted,  that  I  might  rest,  and  also 
my  evenings,  except  those  when  I  preached.  There  were 
three  preaching  services  on  the  Sabbath,  one  of  which  was 
filled  by  Mr.  Hopkins.  I  preached  in  the  morning  and 
evening,  I  think,  of  each  Sabbath,  and  he  in  the  afternoon. 

The  word  took  immediate  effect.  On  the  first  or  second 
Sabbath  evening  that  I  preached,  I  saw  that  the  word  was 
taking  such  powerful  hold  that  at  the  close  I  called  for 
those  whose  minds  were  made  up,  to  come  forward,  publicly 
renounce  their  sins,  and  give  themselves  to  Christ.  Much 
to  my  own  surprise,  and  very  much  to  the  surprise  of  the 
pastor  and  many  members  of  the  church,  the  first  man  that 
I  observed  as  coming  forward  and  leading  the  way,  was  the 
man  that  had  led,  and  exerted  more  influence  than  any 
othei  one  man,  in  the  opposition  to  the  former  revival.  He 
caine  forward  promptly,  followed  by  a  large  number  of  the 
persons  who  had  signed  that  paper  ;  and  that  evening  there 
wae  such  a  demonstration  made,  as  to  produce  a  genera] 
interest  throughout  the  place. 

I  have  spoken  of  Mr.  Clary  as  the  praying  man,  who 


REVIVAL  IN   AUBUBN.  306 

*as  at  Rochester.  He  had  a  brother,  a  physician,  living  in 
Auburn.  I  think  it  was  the  second  Sabbath  that  I  was  at 
Auburn  at  this  time,  I  observed  in  the  congregation  the 
solemn  face  of  this  Mr.  Clary.  He  looked  as  if  he  was 
borne  down  with  an  agony  of  prayer.  Being  well  ac 
quainted  with  him,  and  knowing  the  great  gift  of  God  that 
was  upon  him,  the  spirit  of  prayer,  I  was  very  glad  to  see 
him  there.  He  sat  in  the  pew  with  his  brother,  the  Doctor, 
who  was  also  a  professor  of  religion,  but  who  knew  nothing 
by  experience,  I  should  think,  of  his  brother  Abel's  great 
power  with  God. 

At  intermission,  as  soon  as  I  came  down  from  the  pulpit, 
Mr.  Clary,  with  his  brother,  met  me  at  the  pulpit  stairs, 
and  the  Doctor  invited  me  to  go  home  with  him  and  spend 
the  intermission  and  get  some  refreshments.  I  did  so. 

After  arriving  at  his  house  we  were  soon  summoned  to 
the  dinner  table.  We  gathered  about  the  table,  and  Dr. 
Clary  turned  to  his  brother  and  said,  "Brother  Abel,  will 
you  ask  a  blessing  ? "  Brother  Abel  bowed  his  head  and 
began,  audibly,  to  ask  a  blessing.  He  had  uttered  but  a 
sentence  or  two  when  he  broke  instantly  down,  moved  sud 
denly  back  from  the  table,  and  fled  to  his  chamber.  The 
Doctor  supposed  he  had  been  taken  suddenly  ill,  and  rose  up 
and  followed  him.  In  a  few  moments  he  came  down  and 
said,  "Mr.  Finney,  brother  Abel  wants  to  see  you."  Said 
I,  "What  ails  him?"  Said  he,  "  I  do  not  know;  but  he 
says  you  know.  He  appears  in  great  distress,  but  I  think  it 
is  the  state  of  his  mind."  I  understood  it  in  a  moment, 
and  went  to  his  room.  He  lay  groaning  upon  the  bed,  the 
Spirit  making  intercession  for  him,  and  in  him,  with  groan- 
ings  that  could  not  be  uttered.  I  had  barely  entered  the 
room,  when  he  made  out  to  say,  "  Pray,  Brother  Finney." 
I  knelt  down  and  helped  him  in  prayer,  by  leading  his  soul 
out  for  the  conversion  of  sinners.  I  continued  to  pray  until 
his  distress  passed  away,  and  then  I  returned  to  the  dinne? 
table. 


dOtf  MEMOIRS   OF    CHARLES   G. 

I  understood  that  this  was  the  voice  of  God.  I  saw  th* 
Spirit  of  prayer  was  upon  him,  and  I  felt  his  influence  upon 
myself,  and  took  it  for  granted  that  the  work  would  move 
on  powerfully.  It  did  so.  I  believe,  but  am  not  quite  sure, 
that  every  one  of  those  men  that  signed  that  paper,  making 
»  long  list  of  names,  was  converted  during  that  revival. 

But  a  few  years  since,  Dr.  S ,  of  Auburn,  wrote  to  me  to 

stow  if  I  had  preserved  that  paper,  wishing,  as  he  said,  to 
ascertain  whether  every  one  of  the  men  that  signed  it,  wag 
not  at  that  time  converted.  The  paper  has  been  mislaid  , 
and  although  it  is  probably  among  my  numerous  papers  and 
letters,  and  may  sometime  be  found,  yet  I  could  not,  at  the 
time,  answer  his  inquiry. 

I  stayed,  at  this  time,  at  Auburn,  six  Sabbaths,  preaching, 
as  I  have  said,  twice  on  the  Sabbath,  and  twice  during  the 
week,  and  leaving  all  the  rest  of  the  labor  for  the  pastor  and 
members  of  the  church.  Here,  as  at  Rochester,  there  was, 
at  this  time,  little  or  no  open  opposition.  Ministers  and 
Christians  took  hold  of  the  work,  and  everybody  that  had  a 
mind  to  work  found  enough  to  do,  and  good  success  in  labor. 

The  pastor  told  me  afterward,  that  he  found  that  in  the 
six  weeks  that  I  was  there,  five  hundred  souls  had  been  con 
verted.  The  means  that  were  used,  were  the  same  that  had 
been  used  at  Rochester.  This  revival  seemed  to  be  only  a 
wave  of  divine  power,  reaching  Auburn  from  the  centre  at 
Rochester,  whence  such  a  mighty  influence  had  gone  out  over 
khe  length  and  breadth  of  the  land. 

Near  the  close  of  my  labors  here,  a  messenger  arrived 
from  Buffalo,  with  an  earnest  request  that  I  should  visit  that 
city.  The  revival  in  Rochester  had  prepared  the  way  in 
Auburn,  as  in  every  other  place  round  about,  and  had  also 
prepared  the  way  in  Buffalo.  At  Buffalo,  the  messenger 
informed  me,  the  work  had  begun,  and  a  few  souls  had  been 
hopefully  converted  ;  but  they  felt  that  other  means  needed 
to  be  used,  and  they  urged  me  so  hard,  that  from  Auburn  I 
turned  back  through  Rochester  to  Buffalo.  I  spent  but 


HBTIVAL   IN    BUFFALO.  307 

about  one  month,  I  think,  at  Buffalo  ;  during  which  time  a 
large  number  of  persons  were  hopefully  converted. 

The  work  at  Buffalo,  as  at  Auburn  and  Rochester,  took 
effect  yery  generally  among  the  more  influential  classes. 
Rev.  Dr.  Lord,  then  a  lawyer,  was  converted  at  that  time,  I 

think ;  also  Mr.  H ,  the  father  of  Rev.  Dr.  H ,  of 

Buffalo.  There  were  many  circumstances  connected  with 
his  conversion,  that  I  have  never  forgotten.  He  was  one  of 
the  most  wealthy  and  influential  men  in  Buffalo,  and  a  man 
of  outwardly  good  morals,  fair  character,  and  high  standing 
as  a  citizen,  but  an  impenitent  sinner.  His  wife  was  a 
Christian  woman,  and  had  long  been  praying  for  him,  and 
hoping  that  he  would  be  converted.  But  when  I  began  to 
preach  there,  and  insisted  that  the  sinner's  "cannot"  is  his 
"  will  not,"  that  the  difficulty  to  be  overcome  was  the  volun 
tary  wickedness  of  sinners,  and  that  they  were  wholly  unwil 
ling  to  be  Christians,  Mr.  H rebelled  very  decidedly 

against  such  teaching.  He  insisted  upon  it  that  it  was  false 
in  his  case  ;  for  he  was  conscious  of  being  willing  to  be  a 
Christian,  and  that  he  had  long  been  willing. 

As  his  wife  informed  me  of  the  position  that  he  occupied, 
I  did  not  spare  him  ;  but  from  day  to  day,  I  hunted  him 
from  his  refuges,  and  answered  all  his  objections,  and  met 
all  his  excuses.  He  became  more  and  more  excited.  He 
was  a  man  of  strong  will ;  and  he  declared  that  he  did  not, 
and  would  not,  believe  such  teaching.  He  said  so  much  in 
opposition  to  the  teaching,  as  to  draw  around  him  some  men 
with  whom  he  had  no  sympathy  at  all,  except  in  their  oppo 
sition  to  the  work.  But  I  did  not  hesitate  to  press  him  in 
every  sermon,  in  one  shape  or  another,  with  his  unwilling 
ness  to  be  a  Christian. 

After  his  conversion,  he  told  me  that  he  was  shocked  and 
ishamed,  when  he  found  that  some  scoffers  had  taken  refuge 
behind  him.  One  evening,  he  said,  he  sat  directly  across  the 
aisle  from  a  notorious  scoffer.  He  said  that  repeatedly 
while  I  was  preaching,  this  man,  with  whom  he  had  no  syro 


308  JIEMOIRS   Ol    CHAKLES   G.    FIJSTNE\. 

pathy  at  all  on  other  subjects,  would  look  toward  him  an  ? 
smile,  and  give  great  indications  of  his  fellowship  with  Mr. 
H '&  opposition  to  the  revival.  He  said  that  on  discover 
ing  this,  his  heart  rose  up  with  indignation  ;  and  he  said  tc 
himself,  "  I  am  not  going  to  be  in  sympathy  with  that  class 
of  men  ;  I  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  them." 

However,  that  very  night,  at  the  close  of  my  sermon,  I 
pressed  the  consciences  of  sinners  so  hard,  and  made  sc 
strong  an  appeal  to  them  to  give  up  their  voluntary  opposi 
tion  and  come  to  Christ,  that  he  could  not  contain  himself. 
As  soon  as  meeting  was  out,  altogether  contrary  to  his  custom, 
he  began  to  resist,  and  to  speak  against  what  had  been  said, 
before  he  got  out  of  the  house.  The  aisles  were  full,  and 
people  were  crowding  around  him  on  every  side.  Indeed  he 
made  some  profane  expression,  as  his  wife  informed  me, 
which  very  much  disturbed  her,  as  she  felt  that  by  his  oppo- 
•ition  he  was  very  likely  to  grieve  the  Spirit  of  God  away, 
and  lose  his  soul. 

That  night  he  could  not  sleep.  His  mind  was  so  exer 
cised  that  he  rose  as  soon  as  there  was  any  light,  left  his 
house  and  went  off  to  a  considerable  distance,  where  there 
was  then  a  grove,  near  a  place  where  he  had  some  water 
works  which  he  called  "  the  hydraulics."  There  in  the  grove 
he  knelt  down  to  pray.  He  said  he  had  felt,  during  the 
night,  as  if  he  must  get  away  by  himself,  so  that  he  could 
speak  aloud  and  let  out  his  voice  and  his  heart,  as  he  was 
pressed  beyond  endurance  with  the  sense  of  his  sins,  and 
with  the  necessity  of  immediately  making  his  peace  with 
God.  But  to  his  surprise  and  mortification,  when  he  kneh 
down  and  attempted  to  pray,  he  found  that  his  heart  would 
not  pray.  He  had  no  words  ;  he  had  no  desires  that  he 
could  express  in  words.  He  said  that  it  appeared  to  him 
that  his  heart  was  as  hard  as  marble,  and  that  he  had  not 
the  least  feeling  on  the  subject.  He  stood  upon  his  knees 
disappointed  ar>^  confounded,  and  found  that  if  he 


ABVIVAL  IK  BUFFALO.  30* 

hie  mouth  to  pray,  he  had  nothing  in  the  form  of  prayer  that 
be  could  sincerely  utter. 

In  this  state  it  occurred  to  him  that  he  could  say  th€ 
Lord's  prayer.  So  he  began,  "Our  Father  wnich  art  in 
heaven."  He  said  as  soon  as  he  uttered  the  words,  he  was 
convicted  of  his  hypocrisy  in  calling  God  his  Father.  Whei 
he  added  the  petition,  "  Hallowed  be  thy  name,"  he  said  i1 
almost  shocked  him.  He  saw  that  he  was  not  sincere,  that 
his  words  did  not  at  all  express  the  state  of  his  mind.  He 
did  not  care  to  have  God's  name  hallowed.  Then  he  uttered 
the  next  petition,  "Thy  kingdom  come."  Upon  this,  he 
said,  he  almost  choked.  He  saw  that  he  did  not  want  the 
kingdom  of  God  to  come  ;  that  it  was  hypocritical  in  him  to 
say  so,  and  that  he  could  not  say  it,  as  really  expressing  the 
sincere  desire  of  his  heart.  And  then  came  the  petition, 
"  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  done  in  heaven."  He 
said  his  heart  rose  up  against  that,  and  he  could  not  say  it. 
Here  he  was  brought  face  to  face  with  the  will  of  God.  He 
had  been  told  from  day  to  day  that  he  was  opposed  to  this 
will  ;  that  he  was  not  willing  to  accept  it ;  that  it  was  his 
voluntary  opposition  to  God,  to  his  law,  and  his  will,  that 
was  the  only  obstacle  in  the  way  of  his  conversion.  This 
consideration  he  had  resisted  and  fought  with  desperation 
But  here  on  his  knees,  with  the  Lord's  prayer  in  his  moutn, 
he  was  brought  face  to  face  with  that  question  ;  and  he  saw 
with  perfect  clearness  that  what  he  had  been  told,  was  true 
that  he  was  not  willing  that  God's  will  should  be  done  ;  and 
that  he  did  not  do  it  himself,  because  he  would  not. 

Here  the  whole  question  of  his  rebellion,  in  its  nature 
atd  its  extent,  was  brought  so  strongly  before  him,  that  he 
saw  it  would  cost  him  a  mighty  struggle,  to  give  up  that 
voluntary  opposition  to  God.  And  then,  he  said,  he  gath 
ered  up  all  the  strength  of  his  will  and  cried  aloud,  "  Thy 
will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  done  in  heaven."  He  said  he 
was  perfectly  conscious  that  his  will  went  with  hi«  words  ; 
that  he  accepted  the  will  of  God,  and  the  whole  will  of  God  • 


MO  MEMOIK8   OF   CHARLES   G.    PUSHSE*. 

that  he  made  a  full  surrender  to  God,  and  accepted  Ohnst 
just  as  he  was  offered  in  the  Gospel.  He  gave  up  his  sins, 
and  embraced  the  will  of  God  as  his  universal  rule  of  life. 
The  language  of  his  hea^t  was,  "  Lord,  do  with  me  as  seera- 
eth  thee  good.  Let  thy  will  be  done  with  me,  and  with  all 
creatures  on  earth,  as  it  is  done  in  heaven."  He  said  he 
prayed  freely,  as  soon  as  his  will  surrendered  ;  and  his  heart 
poured  itself  out  like  a  flood.  His  rebellion  all  passed  away, 
his  feelings  subsided  into  a  great  calm,  and  a  sweet  peace 
seemed  to  fill  all  his  soul. 

He  rose  from  his  knees  and  went  to  his  house,  and  told 
his  anxious  wife,  who  had  been  praying  for  him  so  earnestly, 
what  the  Lord  had  done  for  his  soul ;  and  confessed  that  he 
had  been  all  wrorg  in  his  opposition,  and  entirely  deceived 
as  it  respected  his  willingness  to  be  a  Christian.  From  that 
time  he  became  an  earnest  laborer  for  the  promotion  of  the 
work  of  God. 

His  subsequent  life  attested  the  reality  of  the  change,  and 
he  lived  and  died  a  useful,  Christian  man.  From  Buffalo  I 
went,  in  June,  I  think,  to  my  father-in-law's,  in  Whitestown, 
I  spent  a  part  of  the  summer  in  journeying  for  recreation, 
and  for  the  restoration  of  my  health  and  strength. 

Early  in  the  autumn  of  1831,  I  accepted  an  invitation  to 
hold  what  was  then  called  "a  protracted  meeting,"  or  a 
series  of  meetings,  in  Providence.  I  labored  mostly  in 
the  church  of  which  Rev.  Dr.  Wilson  was  at  that  time 
pastor.  I  think  I  remained  there  about  three  weeks,  hold 
ing  meetings  every  evening,  and  preaching  three  times  on 
the  Sabbath.  The  Lord  poured  out  his  Spirit  immediately 
upon  the  people,  and  the  work  of  grace  commenced  and 
went  forward  in  a  most  interesting  manner.  However,  my 
stay  was  too  short  to  secure  so  general  a  work  of  grace  in 
that  place,  as  occurred  afterwards  in  1842,  when  I  spent  some 
fcwo  months  there  ;  the  particulars  of  which  I  shall  relate  ir 
?ts  proper  connection. 

There  were  many  interesting  conversions  at  that  time 


REVIVAL  IK   PfiOVIDEKCB.  3JU 

and  several  of  the  men  who  have  had  a  leading  Christian 
influence  in  that  city,  from  that  time  to  the  present  day, 
were  converted.  This  was  also  true  of  the  women ;  many 
very  interesting  cases  of  conversion  among  them  occurred. 
I  remember  with  great  distinctness  the  conversion  of  one 
young  lady,  which  I  will  in  brief  relate.  I  had  observed  in 
the  congregation,  on  the  Sabbath,  a  young  woman  of  great 
personal  beauty,  sitting  in  a  pew  with  a  young  man  who 
I  afterwards  learned  was  her  brother.  She  had  a  very  intel 
lectual,  and  a  very  earnest  look,  and  seemed  to  listen  to 
every  word  I  said,  with  the  utmost  attention  and  seriousness. 

I  was  the  guest  of  Mr.  Josiah  Chapin  ;  and  in  going  from 
the  church  with  him  to  his  own  house,  I  observed  this 
young  brother  and  sister  going  up  the  same  street.  I 
pointed  them  out  to  Mr.  Chapin,  and  asked  him  who  they 
wera  He  informed  me  that  they  were  a  Mr.  and  a  Miss 
A. ,  brother  and  sister,  and  remarked  that  she  was  con 
sidered  the  most  beautiful  girl  in  Providence.  I  asked  him 
"f  she  was  a  professor  of  religion  ;  and  he  said,  no.  I  told 
him  I  thought  her  very  seriously  impressed,  and  asked  him 
if  he  did  not  think  it  would  be  well  for  me  to  call  and  see 
her.  He  spoke  discouragmgly  in  regard  to  that,  and 
thought  it  would  be  a  waste  of  time,  and  that  possibly  I 
might  not  be  cordially  received.  He  thought  that  she  was  a 
girl  so  much  caressed  and  nattered,  and  that  her  surround 
ings  were  such,  that  she  probably  entertained  but  little  seri 
ous  thought  in  regard  to  the  salvation  of  her  soul.  But  he 
was  mistaken  ;  and  I  was  right  in  supposing  that  the  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  was  striving  with  her. 

I  did  Mot  call  upon  her ;  but  a  few  days  after  this,  she 
called  to  see  me.  I  knew  her  at  once,  and  inquired  of  her 
in  regard  to  the  state  of  her  soul.  She  was  very  thoroughly 
awakened  ;  but  her  real  convictions  of  sin  were  not  ripened 
into  that  state  that  I  wished  to  see  and  which  I  thought 
was  necessary,  before  she  could  be  really  brought  intelligently 
t.o  accept  the  righteousness  of  Christ.  I  therefore  spent  ar 


MEMOIRS   OF  CHABLES   G. 

hour  or  two — for  her  call  was  considerably  protracted,  in 
trying  to  show  her  the  depravity  of  her  heart.  She  at  first 
uecoiled  from  my  searching  questions.  But  her  convictions 
seemed  to  ripen  as  I  conversed  with  her  ;  and  she  became 
more  and  more  profoundly  serious. 

When  I  had  said  to  her  what  I  thought  was  necessary  tc 
secure  a  ripened  and  thorough  conviction,  under  the  influ 
ence  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  she  got  up  with  a  manifest  feel 
ing  of  dissatisfaction,  and  left  me.  I  was  confident  the 
Spirit  of  God  had  so  thoroughly  taken  hold  of  her  case,  that 
what  I  had  said  to  her  would  not  be  shaken  off,  but  on  the 
contrary  that  it  would  work  the  conviction  that  I  sought  to 
produce. 

Two  or  three  days  afterwards  she  called  on  me  again.  I 
could  see  at  once  that  she  was  greatly  bowed  down  in  her 
spirit  As  soon  as  she  came  in  she  sat  down,  itnd  threw  her 
heart  open  to  me.  With  the  utmost  candor  she  said  to  me, 
"  Mr.  Finney,  I  thought  when  I  was  here  before,  that  your 
questions  and  treatment  of  *ne  were  pretty  severe.  But," 
said  she,  "I  see  now  that  I  am  all  that  you  represented  me  to 
be.  Indeed,"  said  she,  "had  it  not  been  for  my  pride  and 
regard  for  my  reputation,  I  should  have  been  as  wicked  a 
girl  as  there  is  in  Providence.  I  can  see,"  said  she,  "  clearly 
that  my  life  has  been  restrained  by  pride,  and  a  regard  to  my 
reputation,  and  not  from  any  regard  to  God,  or  his  law  or 
Gospel.  I  can  see  that  God  has  made  use  of  my  pride  and 
ambition,  to  restrain  me  from  disgraceful  iniquities.  I  have 
been  petted  and  flattered,  and  have  stood  upon  my  dignity  ; 
and  have  maintained  my  reputation  7rom  purely  selfish  mo 
tives."  She  went  on  spontaneously,  and  owned  up,  and 
showed  that  her  Convictions  were  thorough  and  permanent. 
She  did  not  appear  to  be  excited,  but  calm,  and  in  the  high 
est  degree  rational,  in  everything  that  she  said.  It  was  evi 
dent,  however,  that  she  had  a  fervent  nature,  a  strong  will, 
and  an  uncommonly  well-balanced  and  cultivated  intellect 

After  conversing  with  her  for  some  time,  and  giving  he? 


HEVIYAL  IN    PitOVIDEtfCE.  313 

fts  thorough  instruction  as  I  could,  we  bowed  before  the  Lord 
in  prayer  ;  and  she,  to  all  human  appearance,  gave  herself 
unreservedly  to  Christ.  She  was  in  a  state  of  mind,  at  thit- 
time,  that  seemed  to  render  it  easy  tor  her  to  renounce  th( 
world.  She  has  always  been  a  very  ateresting  Christian. 
Not  many  years  after  her  conversion,  she  was  married  to  a 
wealthy  gentleman  in  the  city  of  New  York.  For  several 
years  I  had  no  direct  correspondence  with  her.  Her  hus 
band  took  her  into  a  circle  of  society  with  which  I  had  no 
particular  acquaintance  ;  and,  until  after  he  died,  I  did  not 
renew  my  acquaintance  with  her.  Since  then  I  have  had 
much  Christian  correspondence  with  her,  and  have  never 
ceased  to  be  greatly  interested  in  her  religious  life.  I  men 
tion  this  case,  because  I  have  ever  regarded  it  as  a  wonderful 
triumph  of  the  grace  of  God  over  the  fascinations  of  the 
world.  The  grace  of  God  was  too  strong  for  the  world, 
even  in  a  case  like  this,  in  which  every  worldly  fascination 
was  surrounding  her. 

While  I  was  at  Providence,  the  question  of  my  going  to 
Boston  was  agitated  by  the  ministers  and  deacons  of  the 
several  Congregational  churches  of  that  city.  I  was  not  my 
self  aware  of  what  they  were  doing  there  ;  but  Dr.  Wisner, 
then  pastor  of  the  Old  South  starch,  came  over  to  Providence 
and  attended  our  meetings.  I  afterward  learned  that  he 
was  sent  over  by  the  ministers,  "  to  spy  out  the  land  and 
bring  back  a  report."  I  had  several  conversations  with  him 
and  he  manifested  an  almost  enthusiastic  interest  in  what 
he  saw  and  heard  in  Providence.  About  the  time  he  wag 
there,  some  very  striking  conversions  took  place. 

The  work  at  Providence  was  of  a  peculiarly  searching  ohar- 
ir.ter,  as  it  respected  professors  of  religion  Old  hopes  were 
terribly  shaken,  and  there  was  a  great  shaking  among  the 
dry  bones  in  the  different  churches.  So  terribly  was  &  deacon 
of  one  of  the  chuiches  searched  on  one  occasion,  chat  he  said 
to  me,  as  I  came  out  of  the  pulpit,  "  Mr.  Pinney,  I  do  not 
believe  there  are  ten  real  Christians  in  Providence.  We  are 
14 


314  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   6.    FINN' BY. 

all  wrong,"  said  he;  "we  have  been  deceived."  Dr.  Wis 
ner,  I  believe,  was  thoroughly  convinced  that  the  work  was 
genuine,  and  for  the  time,  extensive  ;  and  that  there  was  no 
indication  of  influences  or  results  that  were  to  be  deplored. 

Af^er  Dr.  Wisner  returned  to  Boston,  I  soon  received  a 
request  from  the  Congregational  ministers  and  churches,  to 
go  to  that  city  and  labor.  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  was  at  that 
time  pastor  of  the  Bowdoin  street  church  ;  his  son,  Edward 
Beecher,  was  either  pastor  or  stated  supply  at  Park  street 
a  Mr.  Green  was  pastor  of  the  Essex  street  church,  but  had 
gone  to  Europe  for  his  health,  and  that  church  was  with 
out  any  stated  supply  at  the  time.  Dr.  Fay  was  pastor  of 
the  Congregational  church  in  Charlestown ;  and  Dr.  Jenks 
was  pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  in  Green  street.  I 
do  not  recollect  who  were  the  pastors  of  the  other  churches 
at  the  time. 

I  began  my  labors  by  preaching  around  in  the  different 
churches  on  the  Sabbath,  and  on  week  evenings  I  pleached 
in  Park  street.  I  soon  saw  that  the  word  of  God  was  taking 
effect,  and  that  the  interest  was  increasing  from  day  to  day. 
But  I  perceived  also  that  there  needed  to  be  a  great  search 
ing  among  professed  Christians.  I  could  not  learn  that 
there  was  among  them  anything  like  the  spirit  of  prayer  that 
had  prevailed  in  the  revivals  at  the  West  and  in  New  York 
city.  There  seemed  to  be  a  peculiar  type  of  religion  there, 
not  exhibiting  that  freedom  and  strength  of  faith  which  1 
had  been  in  the  habit  yf  seeing  in  New  York. 

I  therefore  began  to  preach  some  searching  sermons  to 
Christians.  Indeed  1  gave  out  on  th^  Sabbath,  that  I  would 
preach  a  series  of  sermons  to  Christians?  in  Park  street,  on 
certain  evenings  of  the  week.  But  I  soon  found  that  these 
sermons  were  not  at  all  palatable  to  the  Christians  of  Boston. 
It  was  something  they  never  had  been  used  to,  and  the 
attendance  at  Park  street  became  less  and  less,  especially  on 
those  evenings  when  I  preached  to  professed  Christians. 
This  was  new  to  me.  1  had  never  before  seen  professed 


REVIVAL   IK   BOSTON.  316 

Christians  shrink  back,  as  they  did  at  that  time  in  Boston, 
from  searching  sermons.  But  I  heard,  again  and  again,  of 
speeches  like  these  :  "  What  will  the  Unitarians  say,  if  such 
things  are  true  of  us  who  are  orthodox  ? "  "If  Mr.  Finney 
preaches  to  us  in  this  way,  the  Unitarians  will  triumph  over 
us,  and  say,  that  at  least  the  orthodox  are  no  better  Chris 
tians  than  Unitarians."  It  was  evident  that  they  somewhat 
resented  my  plain  dealing,  and  that  my  searching  sermons 
astonished,  and  even  offended,  very  many  of  them.  How 
ever,  as  the  work  went  forward,  this  state  of  things  changed 
greatly  ;  and  after  a  few  weeks  they  would  listen  to  search 
ing  preaching,  and  came  to  appreciate  it. 

I  found  in  Boston,  as  I  had  everywhere  else,  that  there 
was  a  method  of  dealing  with  inquiring  sinners  that  was 
very  trying  to  me.  I  used  sometimes  to  hold  meetings  of 
inquiry  with  Dr.  Beeclier,  in  the  basement  of  his  church. 
One  evening  when  there  was  a  large  attendance,  and  a 
feeling  of  great  searching  and  solemnity  among  the  in 
quirers,  at  the  close,  AS  was  my  custom,  I  made  an  address 
in  which  I  tried  to  point  out  to  them  exactly  what  the  Lord 
required  of  them.  My  object  was  to  bring  them  to  re 
nounce  themselves  and  their  all,  and  give  themselves  and  all 
they  possessed  to  Christ.  I  tried  to  show  them  that  they 
were  not  their  own,  but  were  bought  with  a  price ;  and 
pointed  out  to  them  the  sense  in  which  they  were  expected 
to  forsake  all  that  they  had,  and  deliver  everything  to  Christ 
as  belonging  to  him. 

I  made  this  point  as  clear  as  I  possibly  could-  and  sav 
that  the  impression  upon  the  inquirers  seemed  to  be  very 
deep.  I  was  about  to  call  on  them  to  kneel  down,  while  we 
presented  them  to  God  in  prayer  ;  when  Dr.  Beecher  arose, 
and  said  to  them,  "  You  need  not  be  afraid  to  give  up  all 
to  Christ,  your  property  and  all,  for  he  will  give  it  right 
back  to  you."  Without  making  any  just  discriminations  at 
all,  as  to  the  sense  in  which  they  were  to  give  up  their  pos 
sessions,  and  the  sense  in  which  the  Lo~d  would  allow  there 


316  ITEMOIBS   OF   CHARLES   Q.    FOTKEY. 

to  retain  them,  he  simply  exhorted  them  not  to  be  afraid  te 
give  up  all,  as  they  had  been  urged  to  do,  as  the  Lord  would 
give  it  right  back  to  them.  I  saw  that  he  was  making  a 
false  impression,  and  I  felt  in  an  agony.  I  saw  that  his 
language  was  calculated  to  make  an  impression,  the  direct 
opposite  of  the  truth. 

After  he  had  finished  his  remarks,  as  wisely  and  care- 
fully  as  I  could,  I  led  them  to  see  that,  in  the  sense  in  which 
God  required  them  to  give  up  their  possessions,  he  would 
never  give  them  back,  and  they  must  not  entertain  such  a 
thought  I  tried  to  say  what  I  said  in  such  a  way  as  not  to 
appear  to  contradict  Mr.  Beecher,  but  yet  thor^^ghly  to  cor 
rect  the  impression  that  I  saw  he  had  made.  I  told  them 
that  the  Lord  did  not  require  them  to  relinquish  all  their 
possessions,  to  quit  their  business,  and  houses,  and  posses 
sions,  and  never  to  have  possession  of  them  again  :  but  he 
did  require  them  to  renounce  the  ownership  of  them,  to 
understand  and  realize  that  these  things  were  not  tho^e,  but 
the  Lord's  ;  that  his  claim  was  absolute,  and  his  property  in 
themselves  and  in  everything  else,  so  entirely  above  the  right 
of  every  other  being  in  the  universe,  that  what  he  required 
of  them  was  to  use  themselves  and  everything  else  as  belong 
ing  to  him  ;  and  never  to  think  that  they  had  a  right  to  use 
their  time,  their  strength,  their  substan?^,  their  influence, 
or  anything  else  which  they  possessed,  as  if  it  ^ere  their  own, 
and  not  the  Lord's. 

Dr.  Beecher  made  r.o  objection  to  what  I  said,  either  at 
the  time,  or  ever,  so  far  as  I  know ;  and  it  is  not  probable 
that  he  intended  anything  inconsistent  with  this,  in  what  he 
aid.  Yet  his  language  was  calculated  to  make  the  impres- 
Jon  that  God  would  restore  their  possession  to  them,  in  the 
sense  in  which  they  had  relinquished  them,  and  given  them 
up  to  him. 

The  members  of  the  orthodox  churches  of  Boston,  at  thii 
time,  generally,  I  believe,  received  my  views  of  doctrine  with- 
*>it  question.  I  know  that  Dr.  Beecher  did  :  for  he  told  me 


BBVIY1.L  IK   BOSTOX.  31 Y 

that  he  had  never  seen  a  man  with  whose  theological  riews 
he  so  entirely  accorded,  as  he  did  with  mine.  There  was  one 
point  of  my  orthodoxy,  however,  to  which  many  of  them  at 
the  time  objected.  There  was  a  Mr.  Rand,  who  published, 
[  think,  a  periodical  in  Boston  at  that  time,  who  wrote  an 
earnest  article  against  my  views  on  the  subject  of  the  divine 
agency  ir_  regeneration  I  preached  that  the  divine  agency 
was  that  of  teaching  and  persuasion,  that  the  influence  was 
a  moral,  and  not.  a  physical  one.  President  Edwards  had 
held  the  contrary ;  and  Mr.  Band  held  with  President  Ed 
wards,  that  the  divine  agency  exercised  in  regeneration  was 
a  physical  one  ;  that  it  produced  a  change  of  nature,  instead 
of  a  change  in  the  voluntary  attitude  and  preference  of  the 
soul.  Mr.  Rand  regarded  my  views  on  this  subject  as  quite 
out  of  the  way.  There  were  some  other  points  of  doctrine 
upon  which  he  dwelt  in  a  critical  manner  ;  such,  for  exam 
ple,  as  my  views  of  the  voluntary  nature  of  moral  depravity, 
and  the  sinner's  activity  in  regeneration. 

Dr.  Wisner  wrote  a  reply,  and  justified  my  views,  with  the 
exception  of  those  that  I  maintained  on  the  persuasive  or 
moral  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  was  not  then  pre 
pared  to  take  the  ground,  against  President  Edwards,  and 
the  general  orthodox  view  of  New  England,  that  the  Spirit's 
agency  was  not  physical,  but  only  moral.  Dr  Woods,  of 
Andover,  also  published  an  article  in  one  of  the  periodicals, 
I  believe  the  one  published  at  Andover,  Uiid€T  this  title . 
"  The  Holy  Ghost  the  author  of  regeneration."  This  was, 
I  think,  the  title  ;  at  any  rate  the  design  was  to  prove  that 
egeneration  was  the  work  of  God.  He  quoted  of  course, 
that  class  of  scriptures  that  assert  the  divine  agency  in  the 
work  o*  changing  the  heart. 

To  this,  1  made  no  reply  in  writing  ;  but  in  my  preach 
ing  I  said  that  that  was  only  a  half  truth  ;  that  the  Bible 
just  as  plainly  asserts  that  regeneration  is  the  work  of  man  ; 
and  I  quoted  those  passages  that  affirm  it.  Paul  said  to  one 
of  the  churches,  that  he  had  begotten  them,  that  is  regen 


316  MEMOIBS   OF    CHA3LES   G.    FINITE*- 

erated  them  ;  for  the  same  word  is  used  as  in  other  passages 
where  regeneration  is  ascribed  to  Q-od.  It  is  easy,  therefore, 
to  show  that  God  has  an  agency  in  regeneration,  and  that 
his  agency  is  that  of  teaching  or  persuasion.  It  is  also  easy 
to  show  that  the  subject  has  an  agency ;  that  the  acts  oi 
repentance,  faith,  and  love  are  his  own  ;  and  ihat  the  Spirit 
persuades  him  to  put  lorth  these  acts,  by  presenting  to  him 
the  truth.  As  the  truth  is  the  instrument,  the  Holy  Spirit 
must  be  one  of  the  agents  ;  and  a  preacher,  or  some  human, 
intelligent  agent,  generally,  also  co-operates  in  the  work. 
There  was  nothing  at  all  unchristian,  that  I  recollect,  in  any 
of  the  discussions  that  we  had,  at  that  time  ;  nothing  that 
grieved  the  Spirit  or  produced  any  unkind  feelings  among 
the  brethren. 

After  I  had  spent  some  weeks,  in  preaching  about  in  the 
different  congregations,  I  consented  to  supply  Mr.  Green's 
church  in  Essex  street  statedly,  for  a  time.  I  therefore  con 
centrated  my  labors  upon  that  field.  We  had  a  blessed  work 
of  grace  ;  and  a  large  number  of  personb  were  converted  in 
different  parts  of  the  city. 

I  had  become  fatigued,  as  I  had  labored  about  ten  years 
as  an  evangelist,  without  anything  more  than  a  few  days  or 
weeks  of  rest,  during  the  whole  period.  The  ministerial 
brethren  were  true  men,  had  taken  hold  of  the  work  as  well 
as  they  knew  how,  and  labored  faithfully  and  efficiently  in 
securing  good  results. 

By  this  time,  a  seco-nd  free  church  had  been  formed  ia 
New  York  city.  Mr.  Joel  Parker's  church,  the  first  free 
church,  had  grown  so  large,  that  a  colony  had  gone  off,  and 
formed  a  second  church ;  to  which  Rev.  Mr.  Barrows,  of 
iate  years  professor  at  Andover,  had  been  preaching  Some 
earnest  brethren  wrote  to  me  from  New  York,  proposing  to 
lease  a  theatre,  and  fit  it  up  for  a  church,  upon  condition 
that  I  would  come  there  and  preach.  They  proposed  to  get 
what  was  called  the  "  Chatham  street  theatre,"  in  the  heart 
of  the  most  irreligious  population  of  New  York.  It  wa 


REVIVAL  IN  BOSTON,  319 

owned  by  men  who  were  very  willing  to  have  it  trans 
formed  into  a  church.  At  this  time  we  had  three  children, 
and  I  could  not  well  take  my  family  with  me,  while  laboring 
as  an  evangelist.  My  strength,  too,  had  become  a  good  deal 
exhausted ;  and  on  praying  and  looking  the  matter  over,  I 
concluded  that  I  would  accept  the  call  from  the  Second  Free 
and  labor,  for  a  time  at  least,  in  New  York, 


CHAPTER 

LABORS   HIT   KBW   YCKK    CITY,    IX   1832,    JUfD   OJTWABl*. 

MR.  LEWIS  TAPPAN,  with  other  Christian  brethren, 
leased  the  Chatham  street  theatre,  and  fitted  it  up  f  01 
a  church,  and  as  a  suitable  place  to  accommodate  the  various 
charitable  societies,  in  holding  their  anniversaries.  They 
called  me,  and  I  accepted  the  pastorate  of  the  Second  Free 
Presbyterian  church.  I  left  Boston  in  April,  1832,  and  com 
menced  labors  in  that  theatre,  at  that  time.  The  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  was  immediately  poured  out  upon  us,  and  we  had 
an  extensive  revival  that  spring  and  summer. 

About  midsummer  the  cholera  appeared  in  New  York, 
for  the  first  time.  The  panic  became  great,  and  a  great 
many  Christian  people  fled  into  the  country.  The  cholera 
was  very  severe  in  the  city  that  summer,  more  so  than  it 
ever  has  been  since  ;  and  it  was  especially  fatal  in  the  part 
of  the  city  where  I  resided.  I  recollect  counting,  from  the 
door  of  our  house,  five  hearses  drawn  up  at  the  same  time,  at 
different  doors  within  sight.  I  remained  in  New  York  until 
quite  the  latter  part  of  summer,  not  being  willing  to  leave 
the  city  while  the  mortality  was  so  great.  But  I  found  that 
the  influence  was  undermining  my  health,  and  in  the  latter 
part  of  summer  I  went  into  the  country,  for  two  or  three 
weeks.  On  my  return,  I  was  installed  as  pastor  of  the 
church.  During  the  installation  services,  I  wak  taken  ill ; 
and  soon  after  I  got  home,  it  was  plain  that  I  was  seized 
with  the  cholera.  The  gentleman  at  the  next  door,  wae 
seized  about  the  same  time,  and  before  morning  he  wag 
dead.  The  means  used  for  my  recovery,  gave  my  system  f 
terrible  shock,  from  which  it  took  me  long  to  recover 


LABOBS  IN    NEW   YORK   CITY.  321 

However,  toward  spring  I  was  able  to  preach  again.  I  in 
vited  two  ministerial  brethren  to  help  me  in  holding  a  series 
of  meetings.  We  preached  in  turn  for  two  or  three  weeks, 
but  very  little  was  accomplished.  I  saw  that  it  was  not  the 
way  to  promote  a  revival  there,  and  I  drew  the  meeting,  in 
that  form,  to  a  close. 

On  the  next  Sabbath,  I  made  appointments  to  preach 
every  evening  during  the  week,  and  a  revival  immediately 
commenced,  and  became  very  powerful.  I  continued  to 
preach  for  twenty  evenings  in  succession,  beside  preaching 
on  the  Sabbath.  My  health  was  not  yet  vigorous,  and  after 
preaching  twenty  evenings,  I  suspended  that  form  of  my 
labors.  The  converts  known  to  us  numbered  five  hundred, 
and  our  church  became  so  large,  that  very  soon  a  colony  was 
sent  off  to  form  another  church  ;  and  a  suitable  building 
was  erected  for  that  purpose,  on  the  corner  of  Madison  ana 
Catharine  streets. 

The  work  continued  to  go  forward,  in  a  very  interesting 
manner.  We  held  meetings  of  inquiry  once  or  twice  a  week, 
and  sometimes  of tener,  and  found  that  every  week,  a  goodly 
number  of  conversions  was  reported.  The  church  were  a 
praying,  working  people.  They  were  tnoroughly  united, 
were  well  trained  in  regard  to  labors  for  the  conversion  of 
sinners,  i*nd  were  a  most  devoted  and  efficient  church  of 
Christ.  They  would  go  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges, 
»nd  bring  people  to  hear  preaching,  whenever  they  were 
called  upon  to  do  so.  Both  men  and  women  would  under 
take  this  work.  When  we  wished  to  give  notice  of  any  extra 
meetings,  little  slips  of  paper,  on  which  was  printed  an  invi 
tation  to  attend  the  services,  would  be  carried  from  house  to 
house,  in  every  direction,  by  the  members  of  the  church ; 
especially  in  that  part  of  the  city  in  which  Chatham  street 
chapel,  as  we  called  it,  was  located.  By  the  distribution  of 
these  slips,  and  by  oral  invitations,  the  house  could  be  filled, 
any  evening  in  the  week.  Our  ladies  were  not  afraid  to  go 
wid  gather  in  all  classes,  from  the  neighborhood  round  about 
u* 


322  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G.    FINKEY. 

It  was  something  new  to  have  religious  services  in  that  thea 
tre,  instead  of  such  scenes  as  had  formerly  been  enacted 
there. 

There  were  three  rooms,  connected  with  the  front  part 
of  the  theatre,  long,  large  rooms,  which  were  fitted  up  for 
prayer-meetings,  and  for  a  lecture-room.  These  rooms  had 
been  used  for  very  different  purposes,  while  the  main  build 
ing  was  occupied  as  a  theatre.  But,  when  fitted  up  for  OUT 
purpose,  they  were  exceedingly  convenient  There  were 
three  tiers  of  galleries  ;  and  those  rooms  were  connected  with 
the  galleries  respectively,  one  above  the  other. 

I  instructed  my  church-members  to  scatter  themselves 
over  the  whole  house,  and  to  keep  their  eyes  open,  in  regard 
to  any  that  were  seriously  affected  under  preaching,  and  ii 
possible,  to  detain  them  after  preaching,  for  conversation  and 
prayer.  They  were  true  to  their  teaching,  and  were  on  the 
lookout  at  every  meeting  to  see  with  whom  the  word  of  God 
was  taking  effect ;  and  they  had  faith  enough  to  dismiss 
their  fears,  and  to  speak  to  any  whom  they  saw  to  be  affected 
by  the  word.  In  this  way  the  conversion  of  a  great  many 
souls  was  secured.  They  would  invite  them  into  those  rooms, 
and  there  we  could  converse  and  pray  with  them,  and  thus 
gather  up  the  results  of  every  sermon. 

A  case  which  I  this  moment  recollect,  will  illustrate  the 
manner  in  which  the  members  would  work.  The  firm  of 
Naylor  and  Company,  who  were  at  that  time  the  great 
cutlery  manufacturers  in  Sheffield,  England,  had  a  house  in 

New  York,  and  a  partner  by  the  name  of  H .     Mr.  H 

was  a  worldly  man,  had  traveled  a  great  deal,  and  had 
resided  in  several  of  the  principal  cities  of  Europe.  One  of 
the  clerks  of  that  establishment  had  come  to  our  meetings 
and  been  converted,  and  felt  very  anxious  for  the  conversion 

of  Mr.   H .     The  young  man,  for  some  time,  hesitated 

about  asking  him  to  attend  our  meetings,  but  he  finally 
ventured  to  do  so  ;  and  in  compliance  with  his  earnest 
entreaty,  Mr.  H =-  came  ono  evening  to  meeting. 


LABORS   IN   1TBW   YORK   CITY.  323 

As  it  happened,  he  sat  near  the  broad  aisle,  over  against 
where  Mr.  Tappan  sat.  Mr.  Tappan  saw  that,  during  the 
sermon,  he  manifested  a  good  deal  of  emotion  ;  and  seemed 
uneasy  at  times,  as  if  he  were  on  the  point  of  going  out. 

Mr.  H afterwards  acknowledged  to  me,  that  he  was 

several  times  on  the  point  of  leaving,  because  he  was  so 
affected  by  the  sermon.  But  he  remained  till  the  blessing 
was  pronounced.  Mr.  Tappan  kept  his  eye  upon  mm,  and 
as  soon  as  the  blessing  was  pronounced,  introduced  himself 
as  Mr.  Tappan,  a  partner  of  Arthur  Tappan  and  Company, 
a  firm  well  known  to  everybody  in  New  York. 

I  have  heard  Mr.  H himself  relate  the  facts,  with 

great  emotion.  He  said  that  Mr.  Tappan  stepped  up  to 
him,  and  took  him  gently  by  the  button  of  his  coat,  and 
spoke  very  kindly  to  him,  and  abked  him  if  he  would  not 
remain  for  prayer  and  conversation.  He  tried  to  excuse  him 
self  and  to  get  away  ;  but  Mr.  Tappan  was  so  gentlemanly 
and  so  kind,  that  he  could  not  well  get  away  from  him.  He 

was  importunate,  and,  as  Mr.  H expressed  it,  "he  held 

fast  to  rny  button,  so  that,"  said  he,  "  an  ounce  weight  at 
my  button  was  the  means  of  saving  my  soul."  The  people 
retired,  and  Mr.  H among  others,  was  persuaded  to  re 
main.  According  to  our  custom  we  had  a  thorough  conver 
sation  ;  and  Mr.  H was  either  then,  or  very  soon  after 

hopefully  converted. 

When  I  first  went  to  Chatham  street  chapel,  I  informed 
the  brethren  that  I  did  not  wish  to  fill  up  the  house  with 
Christians  from  other  churches,  as  my  object  was  to  gather 
from  the  world.  I  wanted  to  secure  the  conversion  of  the 
ungodly,  to  the  utmost  possible  extent.  We  therefore  gave 
ourselves  to  labor  for  that  class  of  persons,  and  by  the  bless 
ing  of  God,  with  good  success.  Conversions  were  multiplied 
so  much  that  our  church  would  soon  become  so  large  that 
we  would  send  off  a  colony ;  and  when  I  left  New  York,  I 
think,  we  had  seven  free  churches,  whose  members  were 
laboring  with  all  their  might  to  secure  the  salvation  of  souls, 


324  MKMOIB8   OF   CHARLES  G.    FIXIHET. 

They  were  supported  mostly  by  collections,  that  were  taker 
up  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath.  If  at  any  time  there  was  a 
deficiency  in  the  treasury,  there  were  a  number  of  brethren 
of  property,  who  would  at  once  supply  the  deficiency  from 
their  own  purses  ;  so  that  we  never  had  the  least  difficulty  in 
meeting  the  pecuniary  demands. 

A  more  harmonious,  prayerful,  and  efficient  people,  1 
never  knew,  than  were  the  members  of  those  free  churches. 
They  were  not  among  the  rich,  although  there  were  several 
men  of  property  belonging  to  them.  In  general  they  were 
gathered  from  the  middle  and  lower  classes  of  the  people. 
This  was  what  we  aimed  to  accomplish,  to  preach  the  Gos 
pel  especially  to  the  poor. 

When  I  first  went  to  New  York,  I  had  made  up  my  mind 
3n  the  question  of  slavery,  and  was  exceedingly  anxious  to 
arouse  public  attention  to  the  subject.  I  did  not,  however, 
turn  aside  to  make  it  a  hobby,  or  divert  the  attention  of  the 
people  from  the  work  of  converting  souls.  Nevertheless,  in 
my  prayers  and  preaching,  I  so  often  alluded  to  slavery,  and 
denounced  it,  that  a  considerable  excitement  came  to  exist 
among  the  people. 

While  I  was  laboring  at  Chatham  street  chapel,  some 
events  occurred  connected  with  the  presbytery,  that  led  to 
the  formation  of  a  Congregational  church,  and  to  my  be 
coming  its  pastor.  A  member  came  to  us  from  one  of  the 
old  churches ;  and  we  were  soon  informed  that,  before  he 
came,  he  had  committed  an  offence  for  which  he  needed  to 
be  disciplined.  I  supposed  that,  since  he  had  been  recom 
mended  to  us  as  a  member  of  another  church  in  good  stand 
ing,  and  since  the  offence  had  been  committed  before  he  left 
that  church,  that  it  belonged  to  them  to  discipline  him. 
The  question  was  brought  before  the  Third  Presbytery  of 
New  York,  to  which  I  then  belonged,  and  they  decided  that 
he  was  under  our  jurisdiction,  and  that  it  belonged  to  us  tc 
take  the  case  in  hand,  and  discipline  him.  We  did  so. 

But  SOOD  another  case  occurred,  in  which  ?  woman  cam* 


LABOB8   Iff   KKW   YORK   CIT1.  335 


from  one  of  the  churches,  and  united  with  us,  and  we  found 
that  she  had  been  guilty  of  an  offence,  before  she  came  to  us, 
which  called  for  discipline.  In  accordance  with  the  ruling 
of  the  presbytery  in  the  other  case,  we  went  forward  and 
excommunicated  her.  She  appealed  from  the  decision  of  the 
session,  to  the  presbytery  ;  and  they  decided  that  the  offence 
was  not  committed  under  our  jurisdiction,  and  ruled  in  a 
manner  directly  opposite  to  their  former  ruling.  I  expostu 
lated,  and  told  them  that  I  did  not  know  how  to  act  ;  thai 
the  two  cases  were  precisely  similar,  and  that  their  rulings  in 
the  two  cases  were  entirely  inconsistent,  and  opposed  to  each 
other.  Dr.  Cox  replied  that  they  would  not  be  governed  by 
their  own  precedent,  or  by  any  other  precedent  ;  and  talked 
so  warmly,  and  pressed  the  case  so  hard,  that  the  presbytery 
went  with  him. 

Soon  after  this,  the  question  came  up  of  building  the 
Tabernacle  in  Broadway.  The  men  that  built  it,  and  the 
leading  members  who  formed  the  church  there,  built  it  with 
the  understanding  that  I  should  be  its  pastor,  and  they 
formed  a  Congregational  church.  I  then  took  my  dismission 
from  the  presbytery,  and  became  pastor  of  that  Congrega 
tional  church. 

But  I  should  hare  said  that  in  January,  1834,  I  was 
obliged  to  leave  on  account  of  my  health,  and  take  a  sea 
voyage.  I  went  up  the  Mediterranean,  therefore,  in  a  small 
brig,  in  the  midst  of  winter.  We  had  a  very  stormy  passage. 
My  state  room  was  small,  and  I  was  on  the  whole,  very  un 
comfortable  ;  and  the  voyage  did  not  much  improve  my 
health.  I  spent  some  weeks  at  Malta,  and  also  in  Sicily.  1 
was  gone  about  six  months.  On  my  return,  I  found  that 
there  was  a  great  excitement  in  New  York.  The  members 
of  my  church,  together  with  other  abolitionists  in  New 
York,  had  held  a  meeting  on  the  fourth  of  July,  and  had 
had  an  address  on  the  subject  of  slave-holding.  A  mob 
was  stirred  up,  and  this  was  the  beginning  of  that  series  oi 
mobe  tkat  spread  in  many  directions,  whenever  and 


326  MEMOIBS    OF   CHARLES   G. 

there  was   an  anti-slavery  gathering,  or  a  voice  lifted  up 
against  the  abominable  institution  of  slavery. 

However,  I  went  forward  in  my  labors  in  Chatham  street, 
The  work  of  God  immediately  revived  and  went  forward 
with  great  interest,  numbers  being  converted  at  almost  or 
quite  every  meeting.  I  continued  to  labor  thus  in  Chatham 
street,  and  the  church  continued  to  nourish,  and  to  extend 
its  influence  and  its  labors,  in  every  direction,  until  the 
Tabernacle  in  Broadway  was  completed. 

The  plan  of  the  interior  of  that  house  was  my  own.  1 
had  observed  the  defects  of  churches  in  regard  to  sound  ; 
and  was  sure  that  I  could  give  the  plan  of  a  church,  in  which 
I  could  easily  speak  to  a  much  larger  congregation  than  any 
house  would  hold,  that  I  had  ever  seen.  An  architect  was  con 
sulted,  and  I  gave  him  my  plan.  But  he  objected  to  it,  that 
it  would  not  appear  well,  and  feared  that  it  would  injure  his 
reputation,  to  build  a  church  with  such  an  interior  as  that. 
I  told  him  that  if  he  would  not  build  it  on  that  plan,  he  was 
not  the  man  to  superintend  its  construction  at  all.  It  was 
finally  built  in  accordance  with  my  ideas  ;  and  it  was  a 
most  commodious,  and  comfortable  place  to  speak  in. 

In  this  connection  I  must  relate  the  origin  of  the  New 
York  Evangelist.  When  I  first  went  to  the  city  of  New 
York,  and  before  I  went  there,  the  New  York  Observer,  in 
the  hands  of  Mr.  Morse,  had  gone  into  the  controversy 
originating  in  Mr.  Nettleton's  opposition  to  the  revivals  in 
central  New  York.  The  Observer  had  sustained  Mr.  Nettle- 
ton'g  course,  and  refused  to  publish  anything  on  the  other 
side.  The  writings  of  Mr.  Nettleton  and  his  friends,  Mr. 
Morse  would  publish  in  the  Observer  ;  but  if  any  reply  was 
made,  by  any  of  the  friends  of  those  revivals,  he  would  not 
publish  it.  In  this  state  of  things,  our  friends  had  no  organ 
through  which  they  could  communicate  with  the  public  to 
correct  misapprehensions. 

Judge  Jonas  Platt,  of  the  supreme  court,  was  then  living 
in  New  York,  and  was  a  friend  of  mine.  His  son  and 


LABORS  IN   NEW   YOBK   CITY.  6%1 

daughter  had  been  hopefully  converted  in  the  revival  at 
Utica.  Considerable  effort  was  made,  by  the  friends  of  those 
revivals,  to  get  a  hearing  on  the  question  in  debate,  but  all  in 
vain.  Judge  Platt  found  one  day,  pasted  on  the  inside  of  the 
cover  of  one  of  his  old  law  books,  a  letter  written  by  one  of 
the  pastors  in  New  York,  against  Whitefield,  at  the  time  he 
was  in  this  country  That  letter  of  the  New  York  pastor 
struck  Judge  Platt,  as  so  strongly  resembling  the  opposition 
made  by  Mr.  Nettleton,  that  he  sent  it  to  the  New  York 
Observer,  and  wished  it  to  be  published  as  a  literary  curiosity, 
it  having  been  written  nearly  a  hundred  years  before.  Mr. 
Morse  refused  to  publish  it,  assigning  as  a  reason,  that  the 
people  would  regard  it  as  applying  to  the  opposition  of  Mr. 
Nettleton. 

At  length,  some  of  the  friends  of  the  rentals  in  New 
York,  assembled  and  talked  the  matter  over,  of  establishing 
a  new  paper  that  should  deal  fairly  with  those  questions. 
They  finally  commenced  the  enterprise.  I  assisted  them  in 
getting  out  the  first  number,  in  which  I  invited  ministers 
and  laymen  to  consider,  and  discuss  several  questions  in 
theology,  and  also  questions  relating  to  the  best  means  of 
promoting  revivals  of  religion. 

The  first  editor  of  the  paper  was  a  Mr.  Saxton,  a  young 
man  who  had  formerly  labored  a  good  deal  with  Mr.  Nettle- 
km,  but  who  strongly  disapproved  of  the  course  he  had  been 
taking,  in  opposing  what  he  then  called  "the  western  revi- 
rals."  This  young  man  continued  in  the  editorial  chair 
about  a  year,  and  discussed,  with  considerable  ability,  many 
>f  the  questions  that  had  been  proposed  for  discussion.  The 
paper  changed  editors  two  or  three  times,  perhaps,  in  the 
course  of  as  many  years ;  and  finally  Rev.  Joshua  Leavitt 
was  called,  and  accepted  the  editorial  chair.  He,  as  every 
body  knows,  was  an  able  editor.  The  paper  soon  went  into 
extensive  circulation,  and  proved  itself  a  medium  through 
which  the  friends  of  revivals,  as  they  then  existed, 
Communicate  their  thoughts  to  the  public. 


328  MEMOIRS  OF   CHABLES   G. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  building  of  the  Tabernacle,  and  ot 
the  excitement  in  New  York  on  the  subject  of  slavery. 
When  the  Tabernacle  was  in  the  process  of  completion,  its 
walls  being  up,  and  the  roof  on,  a  story  was  set  in  circulation 
that  it  was  going  to  be  "an  amalgamation  church,"  in 
which  colored  and  white  people  were  to  be  compelled  to  sit 
promiscuously,  over  the  house.  Such  was  the  state  of  the 
public  mind  in  New  York,  at  that  time,  that  this  report 
created  a  great  excitement,  and  somebody  set  the  building 
on  fire.  The  firemen  were  in  such  a  state  of  mind  that  they 
refused  to  put  it  out,  and  left  the  interior  and  roof  to  be 
consumed.  However  the  gentlemen  who  had.  undertaken  to 
build  it,  went  forward  aflad  completed  it. 

As  the  excitement  increased  on  the  subject  of  slavery, 
Mr.  Leavitt  espoused  the  cause  of  the  slave,  and  advocated 
it  in  the  New  York  Evangelist.  I  watched  the  discussion 
with  a  good  deal  of  attention  and  anxiety,  and  when  I  was 
about  to  leave,  on  the  sea  voyage  to  which  I  have  referred, 
I  admonished  Mr.  Leavitt  to  be  careful  and  not  go  too  fast, 
in  the  discussion  of  the  anti-slavery  question,  lest  he  should 
destroy  his  paper.  On  my  homeward  passage  my  mind 
became  exceedingly  exercised  on  the  question  of  revivals.  I 
feared  that  they  would  decline  throughout  the  country.  I 
feared  that  the  opposition  that  had  been  made  to  them,  had 
grieved  the  Holy  Spirit.  My  own  health,  it  appeared  to 
me,  had  nearly  or  quite  broken  down ;  and  I  knew  of  no 
other  <6f&ngelist  that  would  take  the  field,  and  aid  pastors  in 
revival  work.  This  view  of  the  subject  distressed  me  so 
much  that  one  day  I  found  myself  unable  to  rest.  My  soul 
was  ir  an  utter  agony.  I  spent  almost  the  entire  day  in 
prayer  in  my  state  room,  or  walking  the  deck  in  intense 
agony,  in  view  of  the  state  of  things.  In  fact  I  felt  crushed 
with  the  burden  that  was  on  my  soul.  There  was  no  one  on 
board  to  whom  I  could  open  my  mind,  or  say  a  word. 

It  was  the  spirit  of  prayer  that  was  upon  me  ;  that 
which  I  had  often  before  experienced  i»  kind  but  perhaps 


uABORS   IN    tfSW   YORK   CIT1.  329 


never  before  to  such  a  degree,  for  so  long  a  time.  1  besought 
the  Lord  to  go  on  with  his  work,  and  to  provide  himseli 
with  such  instrumentalities  as  were  necessary.  It  was  a 
long  summer  day,  in  the  early  part  of  July.  After  a  day  of 
unspeakable  wrestling  and  agony  in  my  soul,  just  at  night, 
the  subject  cleared  up  to  my  mind.  The  Spirit  led  me  to 
believe  that  all  would  come  out  right,  and  that  God  had  yet 
a  work  for  me  to  do  ;  that  I  might  be  at  rest  ;  that  the  Lord 
would  go  forward  with  his  work,  and  give  me  strength  to 
take  any  part  in  it  that  he  desired.  But  I  had  not  the  least 
idea  what  the  course  of  his  providence  would  be. 

On  arriving  at  New  York  I  found,  as  I  have  said,  the 
mob  excitement,  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  very  intense.  I 
remained  but  a  day  or  two  in  New  York,  and  went  into  the 
country,  to  the  place  where  my  family  were  spending  the 
rammer.  On  my  return  to  New  York,  in  the  fall,  Mr. 
Leavitt  came  to  me  and  said,  "Brother  Finney,  I  have 
ruined  the  Evangelist.  I  have  not  been  as  prudent  as  you 
cautioned  me  to  be,  and  I  have  gone  so  far  ahead  of  public 
intelligence  and  feeling  on  the  subject,  that  my  subscription 
list  is  rapidly  failing  ;  and  we  shall  not  be  able  to  continue 
its  publication  beyond  the  first  of  January,  unless  you  can 
do  something  to  bring  the  paper  back  to  public  favor  again. 
I  told  him  my  health  was  such  that  I  did  not  know  what  I 
could  do  ;  but  I  would  make  it  a  subject  of  prayer.  He 
said  if  I  could  write  a  series  of  articles  on  revivals,  he  had 
no  doubt  it  would  restore  the  paper  immediately  to  public 
favor.  After  considering  it  a  day  or  two,  I  proposed  to 
preach  a  course  of  lectures  to  my  people,  OE  revivals  of 
religion,  which  he  might  report  for  his  paper  He  caught 
at  this  at  once.  Says  he,  "  That  is  the  very  thing  ;  "  and  in 
the  next  number  of  his  paper  he  advertised  the  course  of 
lectures.  This  had  the  effect  he  desirwd,  and  he  soon  after 
told  me  that  the  subscription  list  was  very  rapidly  increas 
ing  ;  and,  stretching  out  his  long  arms,  he  said,  "  I  have  as 
many  new  subscribers  every  day.  as  would  fill  my  arms  with 


330  tfEMOlRS   OF   CHARLES   a. 

papers,  to  supply  them  each  a  single  number."  He  had  told 
me  before,  that  his  subscription  list  had  fallen  off  at  the  rate 
of  sixty  a  day.  But  now  he  said  it  was  increasing  more 
rapidly  than  it  ever  had  decreased. 

I  began  the  course  of  lectures  immediately,  and  continued 
them  through  the  winter,  preaching  one  each  week.  Mr. 
Leavitt  could  not  write  short-hand,  but  would  sit  and  take 
notes,  abridging  what  he  wrote,  in  such  a  way  that  he  could 
understand  it  himself  ;  and  then  the  next  day  he  would  sit 
down  and  fill  out  his  notes,  and  send  them  to  the  press.  I 
did  not  see  what  he  had  reported,  until  I  saw  it  published  in 
his  paper.  I  did  not  myself  write  the  lectures,  of  course  ; 
they  were  wholly  extemporaneous.  I  did  not  make  up  my 
mind,  from  time  to  time,  what  the  next  lecture  should  be, 
until  I  saw  his  report  of  my  last.  Then  I  could  see  what 
was  the  next  question  that  would  naturally  need  discussion. 
Brother  Leavitt's  reports  were  meagre,  as  it  respects  the  mat 
ter  contained  in  the  lectures.  The  lectures  averaged,  if  I 
remember  right,  not  less  than  an  hour  and  tnree  quarters,  in 
their  delivery.  But  all  that  he  could  catch  and  report, 
could  be  read,  probably  in  thirty  minutes. 

These  lectures  were  afterward  published  m  a  book,  and 
called,  "  Finney's  Lectures  on  Revivals."  Twelve  thousand 
copies  of  them  were  sold,  as  fast  as  they  could  be  printed. 
And  here,  for  the  glory  of  Christ,  I  would  say,  that  they  have 
been  re-printed  in  England  and  France  ;  they  were  translated 
into  Welsh ;  and  on  the  continent  were  translated  into 
French  and,  I  believe,  into  German  ;  and  were  very  exten 
sively  circulated  throughout  Europe,  and  the  colonies  of 
Great  Britain.  They  were,  I  presume,  to  be  found  wherever 
the  English  language  is  spoken.  After  they  had  beer 
printed  in  Welsh,  the  Congregational  ministers  of  the  Princi 
pality  of  Wales,  at  one  of  their  public  meetings,  appointed  j» 
committee  to  inform  me  of  the  great  revival  that  had  resulted 
from  the  translation  of  those  lectures  into  the  Welsh  language. 
This  they  did  by  letter.  One  publisher  in  London  informed 


LABORS   IN   NEW   YORK    CITY.  335 

me,  that  his  father  had  published  eighty  thousand  volumes 
of  them.  These  revival  lectures,  meagre  as  was  the  report 
of  them,  and  feeble  as  they  were  in  themselves,  have  been 
instrumental,  as  I  have  learned,  in  promoting  revivals  in 
England,  and  Scotland,  and  Wales,  on  the  continent  in 
various  places,  in  Canada  East  and  West,  in  Nova  Scotia, 
and  in  some  of  the  islands  of  the  sea. 

In  England  and  Scotland,  I  have  often  been  refreshed 
by  meeting  with  ministers  and  laymen,  in  great  numbers, 
that  had  been  converted,  directly  or  indirectly,  through  the 
instrumentality  of  those  lectures.  I  recollect  the  last  time 
that  1  was  abroad,  one  evening,  three  very  prominent  minis 
ter^  of  the  Gospel  introduced  themselves  to  me,  after  the 
sermon,  and  said  that  when  they  were  in  college  they  got 
hold  of  my  revival  lectures,  which  had  resulted  in  their 
becoming  ministers.  I  found  persons  in  England,  in  all  the 
different  denominations,  who  had  not  only  read  those  revi 
val  lectures,  but  had  been  greatly  blessed  in  reading  them. 
When  they  were  first  published  in  the  New  York  Evangelist, 
the  reading  of  them  resulted  in  revivals  of  religion,  in  multi 
tudes  of  places  throughout  this  country. 

But  this  was  not  of  man's  wisdom.  .Let  the  reader 
remember  that  long  day  of  agony  and  prayer  at  sea,  that  God 
would  do  something  to  forward  the  work  of  revivals,  and 
enable  me,  if  he  desired  to  do  it,  to  take  such  a  course  as  to 
help  forward  the  work.  I  felt  certain  then  that  my  prayers 
would  be  answered ;  and  I  have  regarded  all  that  I  have 
since  been  able  to  accomplish,  as,  in  a  very  important  sense, 
an  answer  to  the  prayers  of  that  day.  The  spirit  of  prayer 
came  upon  me  as  a  sovereign  grace,  bestowed  upon  me  with 
out  the  least  merit,  and  in  despite  of  all  my  sinfulness.  He 
pressed  my  soul  in  prayer,  until  I  was  enabled  to  prevail ; 
and  through  infinite  riches  of  grace  in  Christ  Jesus,  I  have 
been  many  years  witnessing  the  wonderful  results  of  thai 
day  of  wrestling  with  God.  In  answer  to  that  day's  agony 
iv  has  continued  to  give  me  the  spirit  of  prayer. 


332  MEMOIRS   OP   CHARLES   ft.    FUTOTi. 

Soon  after  I  returned  to  New  York,  I  commenced  nij 
labors  k  fche  Tabernacle.  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  was 
poured  out  upon  us,  and  we  had  a  precious  revival,  as  long 
as  I  continued  to  be  pastor  of  that  church.  While  in  New 
York,  I  had  many  applications  from  young  men,  to  take  them 
as  students  in  theology.  I,  however,  had  too  much  on  my 
hands,  to  undertake  such  a  work.  But  the  brethren  who 
built  the  Tabernacle  had  this  in  view  ;  and  prepared  a  room 
under  the  choir,  which  we  expected  to  use  for  prayer  meet 
ings,  but  more  especially  for  a  theological  lecture-room.  The 
number  of  applications  had  been  so  large,  that  I  had  Baade  up 
my  mind  to  deliver  a  course  of  theological  lectures  in  that 
room  each  year,  and  let  such  students  as  chose,  attend  them 
gratuitously. 

But  about  this  time,  and  before  1  had  opened  my  lectures 
in  New  York,  the  breaking  up  at  Lane  Seminary  took  place, 
on  account  of  the  prohibition  by  the  trustees,  of  the  discus 
sion  of  the  question  of  slavery  among  the  students.  When 
this  occurred,  Mr.  Arthur  Tappan  proposed  to  me,  that  if  I 
would  go  to  some  point  in  Ohio,  and  take  rooms  where  I 
could  gather  those  young  men,  and  give  them  my  views  in 
theology,  and  prepare  them  for  the  work  of  preaching 
throughout  the  West,  he  would  be  at  the  entire  expense  of 
the  undertaking.  He  was  very  earnest  in  this  proposal. 
But  I  did  not  know  how  to  leave  New  York ;  and  I  did  not 
see  how  I  could  accomplish  the  wishes  of  Mr.  Tappan, 
although  I  strongly  sympathized  with  him  in  regard  to 
helping  those  young  men.  They  were  most  of  them  con 
verts  in  those  great  revivals,  in  which  I  had  taken  more  or 
less  part. 

While  this  subject  was  under  consideration,  I  think,  in 
January,  1835,  Rev.  John  Jay  Shipherd,  of  Oberlin,  and 
Rev.  Asa  Mahan,  of  Cincinnati,  arrived  in  New  York,  to  per 
suade  me  to  go  to  Oberlin,  as  professor  of  theology.  Mr. 
Mahan  had  been  one  of  the  trustees  of  Lane  Seminary — tht 
only  one,  I  think,  that  had  resisted  the  prohibition  of  free 


LA.BOR8   IN    NEW    YORK   CITY.  33& 

discussion.  Mr.  Shipherd  had  founded  a  colony,  and  organ 
ized  a  school  at  Oberlin,  about  a  year  before  this  time,  and 
had  obtained  a  charter  broad  enough  for  a  university.  Mr 
Mahan  had  never  been  in  Oberlin.  The  trees  had  been 
removed  from  the  college  square,  some  dwelling-houses  and 
one  college  building  had  been  erected,  and  about  a  hundred 
pupils  had  been  gathered,  in  the  preparatory  or  academic 
department  of  the  institution. 

The  proposal  they  laid  before  me  was,  to  come  on,  and 
take  those  students  that  had  left  Lane  Seminary,  and  teach 
them  theology.  These  students  had  themselves  proposed  to 
go  to  Oberlin,  in  case  I  would  accept  the  calL  This  pro 
posal  met  the  views  of  Arthur  and  T^wis  Tappan,  and  many 
of  the  friends  of  the  slave,  who  symp&iaized  with  Mr.  Tappan, 
in  his  wish  to  have  those  young  men  instructed,  and  brought 
into  the  ministry.  We  had  several  consultations  on  the 
subject  The  brethren  in  New  York  who  were  interested 
in  the  question,  offered,  if  I  would  go  and  spend  half  of 
each  year  in  Oberlin,  to  endow  the  institution,  so  far  as 
the  professorships  were  concerned,  and  to  do  it  immedi 
ately. 

I  had  understood  that  the  trustees  of  Lane  Seminary  had 
acted  "  over  the  heads  "  of  the  faculty  ;  and,  in  the  absence 
of  several  of  them,  had  passed  the  obnoxious  resolution  that 
had  caused  the  students  to  leave.  I  said,  therefore,  to  Mr. 
Shipherd,  that  I  would  not  go  at  any  rate,  unless  two  points 
were  conceded  by  the  trustees.  One  was,  that  they  should 
never  interfere  with  the  internal  regulation  of  the  school, 
but  should  leave  that  entirely  to  the  discretion  of  AHe  faculty. 
The  other  was,  that  we  should  be  allowed  to  re^re  colored 
people  on  the  same  conditions  that  we  did  white  people , 
that  there  should  be  no  discrimination  made  on  account 
of  color. 

When  these  conditions  were  forwarded  to  Oberlin,  the 
trustees  were  called  together,  and  after  a  great  struggle  ic 
overcome  their  own  prejudices,  and  the  prejudices  of  the 


334  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   C*. 

community,  they  passed  resolutions  complying  with  the  con 
ditions  proposed.  This  difficulty  being  removed,  the  friends 
in  New  York  were  called  together,  to  see  what  they  could  do 
about  endowing  the  institution.  In  the  course  of  an  hour 
or  two,  they  had  a  subscription  filled  for  the  endowment  of 
eight  professorships  ;  as  many,  it  was  supposed,  as  the  institu 
tion  would  need  for  several  years. 

But  after  this  endowment  fund  was  subscribed,  I  felt  a 
great  difficulty  in  giving  up  that  admirable  place  for  preach 
ing  the  Gospel,  where  such  crowds  were  gathered  withir  the 
sound  of  my  voice.  I  felt,  too,  assured  that  in  this  new 
enterprise,  we  should  have  great  opposition  from  many 
sources.  I  therefore  told  Arthur  Tappan  that  my  mind  did 
not  feel  at  rest  upon  the  subject  ;  that  we  should  meet  with 
great  opposition  because  of  our  anti-slavery  principles  ;  and 
that  we  could  expect  <>o  get  but  very  scanty  funds  to  put  up 
our  buildings,  and  to  procure  all  the  requisite  apparatus  of  a 
college  ;  that  therefore  I  did  not  see  my  way  clear,  after  all, 
to  commit  myself,  unless  something  could  be  done  that 
should  guarantee  us  the  funds  that  were  indispensable. 

Arthur  Tappan's  heart  was  ag  large  as  all  New  York,  wl 
I  might  say,  as  large  as  the  world.  When  I  laid  the  case 
thus  before  him,  he  said.  "  Brother  Finney,  my  own  in 
come  averages  about  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  a  year. 
Now  if  you  will  go  to  Oberlin,  take  hold  of  that  work,  and 
go  on,  and  see  that  the  buildings  are  put  up,  and  a.  library 
and  everything  provided,  I  will  pledge  you  my  entire  income, 
except  what  I  need  to  provide  for  my  family,  till  you  arc 
beyond  pecuniary  want."  Having  perfect  confidence  in 
brother  Tappan  I  said,  "  That  will  d  j.  Thus  far  the  diffi 
culties  are  out  of  the  way." 

But  still  there  was  a  great  difficulty  in  leaving  liiy  church 
in  New  York.  I  had  never  thought  of  having  my  labors  at 
Oberlin  interfere  with  my  revival  labors  and  preaching.  It 
was  therefore  agreed  between  myself  and  thp  ohuTch,  that  I 


LJLBOBS  IN   NEW    YOBK   CITY,  335 

should  spend  my  winters  in  New  York,  and  my  summers  at 
Oberlin  ;  and  that  the  church  would  be  at  the  expense  of  my 
going  and  coming. 

When  this  was  arranged,  1  took  my  family,  and  arrived 
iu  Oberlin  at  the  beginning  of  rammer.  1835, 


CfiAPTjRK  XJL1V 

MABLT   LABORS   Itf   OBBBLIH. 

fTTHE  students  from  Lane  Seminaiy  came  to  Oberlin, 
JL  the  trustees  put  up  "barracks,"  in  which  they  were 
lodged,  and  other  students  thronged  to  us  from  every  direc 
tion.  After  I  was  engaged  to  come,  the  brethren  at  Oberlir. 
wrote,  requesting  me  to  bring  a  large  tent,  to  hold  meetings 
in  ;  as  there  was  no  room  in  the  place,  large  enough  to  ac 
commodate  the  people.  I  made  this  request  known  to  some 
of  my  brethren,  who  told  me  to  go  and  get  a  tent  made,  and 
they  would  furnish  the  money.  I  went  and  engaged  the 
tent,  and  they  handed  me  the  money  to  pay  for  it.  It  was 
a  circular  tent,  a  hundred  feet  in  diameter,  furnished  with 
all  the  equipments  for  putting  it  up.  At  the  top  of  the 
centre  pole  which  supported  the  tent,  was  a  streamer,  upon 
which  was  written  in  very  large  characters,  "  Holiness  to  the 
Lord."  This  tent  was  of  great  service  to  us.  When  the 
weather  would  permit,  we  spread  it  upon  the  square  every 
Sabbath,  and  held  public  services  in  it ;  and  several  of  our 
earliest  commencements  were  held  in  it.  It  was  used,  to 
some  extent  also,  for  holding  protracted  meetings  in  the  re 
gion  round  about,  where  there  were  no  churches  large  enough 
*x>  meet  the  necessities. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  promise  of  Arthur  Tappan  to  sup 
ply  us  with  funds,  to  the  extent  of  his  whole  income,  till  we 
were  beyond  pecuniary  want  Upon  this  understanding 
with  him,  I  entered  upon  the  work.  But  it  was  farther 
understood  between  us,  that  his  pledge  should  not  be  known 
fco  the  trustees,  lest  they  should  fail  to  make  due  efforts,  as 
he  desired,  not  merely  to  collect  funds,  but  to  make  the 


EABLY  LABORS  IN  OBEELIN.  337 

wants  and  objects  of  the  institution  known  throughout  the 
land.  In  accordance  with  this  understanding,  the  work  here 
was  pushed  as  fast  as  it  could  well  be,  considering  that  we 
were  in  the  heart  of  a  great  forest,  and  in  a  location,  at  that 
time  in  many  respects  undesirable. 

We  had  only  fairly  entered  upon  the  work  of  putting  up 
)ur  onildings,  and  had  arranged  to  need  a  large  amount  of 
money,  wheL  the  great  commercial  crash  prostrated  Mr. 
Tappan,  and  nearly  all  the  men  who  had  subscribed  for  the 
fund  for  the  support  of  the  faculty.  The  commercial  crash 
went  over  the  country,  and  prostrated  the  great  mass  of 
wealthy  men.  It  left  us,  not  only  without  funds  for  the 
support  of  the  faculty,  but  thirty  thousand  dollars  in  debt ; 
without  any  prospect,  that  we  could  see,  of  obtaining  funds 
from  the  friends  of  the  college  in  this  country.  Mr.  Tappan 
wrote  me  at  this  time,  acknowledging  expressly  the  promise 
he  had  made  me,  and  expressing  the  deepest  regret  that  he 
was  prostrated,  and  wholly  unable  to  fulfil  his  pledge.  Our 
necessities  were  then  great,  and  to  human  view  it  would  seem 
that  the  college  must  be  a  failure. 

The  great  mass  of  the  people  of  Ohio  were  utterly  op 
posed  to  our  enterprise,  because  of  its  abolition  character. 
The  towns  around  us  were  hostile  to  our  movement,  and  in 
some  places  threats  were  made  to  come  and  tear  down  our 
buildings.  A  democratic  legislature  was,  in  the  meantime, 
endeavoring  to  get  some  hold  of  us,  that  would  enable  them 
to  abrogate  our  charter.  In  this  state  of  things  there  was, 
of  course,  a  great  crying  to  God  among  the  people  here. 

In  the  meantime,  my  revival  lectures  had  been  very  ex 
tensively  circulated  in  England  ;  and  we  were  aware  that  the 
British  public  would  strongly  sympathize  with  us,  if  they 
knew  our  objects,  our  prospects,  and  our  condition.  We 
therefore  sent  an  agency  to  England,  composed  of  Rev. 
John  Keep  and  Mr.  William  Dawes,  having  obtained  for 
them  letters  of  recommendation,  and  expressions  of  confi 
dence  in  our  enterprise,  from  some  of  the  leading  anti 


3d«  30MOIB8   OF   CHARLES   G.    FINNET. 

slavery  men  of  the  country.  They  went  to  England,  and  laid 
our  objects  and  our  wants  before  the  British  public.  They 
generously  responded,  and  gave  us  six  thousand  pounds 
sterling.  This  very  nearly  cancelled  our  indebtedness. 

Our  friends,  scattered  throughout  the  northern  states, 
who  were  abolitionists  and  friends  of  revivals,  generously 
aided  as  to  the  extent  of  their  ability.  But  we  had  to  strug 
gle  with  poverty  and  many  trials,  for  a  course  of  years. 
Sometimes  we  did  not  know,  from  day  to  day,  how  we  were 
to  be  provided  for.  But  with  the  blessing  of  God  we  helped 
ourselves,  as  best  we  could. 

At  one  time,  I  saw  no  means  of  providing  for  my  family 
through  the  winter.  Thanksgiving  day  came,  and  found  us 
so  poor  that  I  had  been  obliged  to  sell  my  travelling  trunk, 
which  I  had  used  in  my  evangelistic  labors,  to  supply  the 
place  of  a  cow  which  I  had  lost.  I  rose  on  the  morning  of 
Thanksgiving,  and  spread  our  necessities  before  the  Lord. 
[  finally  concluded  by  saying  that,  if  help  did  not  come,  I 
should  assume  that  it  was  best  that  it  should  not ;  and  would 
be  entirely  satisfied  with  any  course  that  the  Lord  would  see 
it  wise  to  take.  I  went  and  preached,  and  enjoyed  my  own 
preaching  as  well,  I  think,  as  I  ever  did.  I  had  a  blessed 
day  to  my  own  soul ;  and  I  could  see  that  the  people  enjoyed 
it  exceedingly. 

After  the  meeting,  I  was  detained  a  little  while  in  conver 
sation  with  some  brethren,  and  my  wife  returned  home. 
When  I  reached  the  gate,  she  was  standing  in  the  open  door, 
with  a  letter  in  her  hand.  As  I  approached  she  smilinglj 
said,  "  The  answer  has  come,  my  dear  ; "  and  handed  me  the 
letter  containing  a  check  from  Mr.  Josiah  Chapin  of  Provi 
dence,  for  two  hundred  dollars.  He  had  been  here  the  pre 
vious  summer,  with  his  wife.  I  had  said  nothing  about  my 
want*  at  all,  as  I  never  was  in  the  habit  of  mentioning  them 
fco  anybody.  But  in  the  letter  containing  the  deck,  he  said 
he  had  learned  that  the  endowment  fund  had  failed,  and 
that  I  was  in  want  of  help.  He  intimated  that  1  might  ex 


EABLY  LABOES  IN  OBERLIN.  331* 

pect  more,  from  time  to  time.  He  continued  to  send  me  six 
hundred  dollars  a  year,  for  several  years  ;  and  on  this  I 
managed  to  live. 

I  should  have  said  that,  agreeably  to  my  arrangement  in 
New  York,  I  spent  my  summers  at  Oberlin,  and  my  winters 
at  New  York,  for  two  or  three  years.  We  had  a  blessed 
reviving,  whenever  I  returned  to  preach  there.  We  also  had 
a  revival  here  continually.  Very  few  students  came  here  then 
without  being  converted.  But  my  health  soon  became  such 
that  I  found,  I  must  relinquish  one  of  these  fields  of  labor 
But  the  interests  connected  with  the  college,  seemed  to  for 
bid  utterly  that  I  should  leave  it.  I  therefore  took  a  dis 
mission  from  my  church  in  New  York,  and  the  winter 
months  which  I  was  to  have  spent  in  New  York,  I  spent  in 
laboring,  in  various  places,  to  promote  revivals  of  religion. 

The  lectures  on  revivals  of  religion  were  preached  while 
I  was  still  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Chatham 
street  chapel.  The  two  following  winters,  I  gave  lectures  to 
Christians  in  the  Broadway  Tabernacle  which  were  also 
reported  by  Mr.  Leavitt,  and  published  in  the  New  York 
Evangelist.  These  also  have  been  printed  in  a  volume 
in  this  country  and  in  Europe.  Those  sermons  to  Christians 
were  very  much  the  result  of  a  searching  that  was  going  on 
in  my  own  mind.  I  mean  that  the  Spirit  of  G-od  was  show 
ing  me  many  things,  in  regard  to  the  question  of  sanctifica- 
tion,  that  led  me  to  preach  those  sermons  to  Christians. 

Many  Christians  regarded  those  lectures  as  rather  an 
exhibition  of  the  Law,  than  of  the  Gospel.  But  I  did  not, 
and  do  not,  so  regard  them.  For  me  the  Law  and  Gospel 
have  but  one  rule  of  life  ;  and  every  violation  of  the  spirit 
of  the  Law,  is  also  a  violation  of  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel. 
But  I  have  long  been  satisfied  that  the  higher  forms  oi 
Christian  experience  are  attained  only  as  a  result  of  a  terri 
bly  searching  application  of  God's  Law  to  the  human  con 
science  and  heart.  The  result  of  my  labors  up  to  that  time 
had  shown  me  more  clearly  th>*n  I  had  known  before,  the  great 


340  MEMOIRS   O*   CHARLES   Q.    FINHEY. 

weakness  of  Christians,  and  that  the  older  members  of  the 
church,  as  a  general  thing,  were  making  very  little  progress 
in  grace.  I  found  that  they  would  fall  back  from  a  revival 
state,  even  sooner  than  young  converts.  It  had  been  so  in 
the  revival  in  which  I  myself  was  converted.  I  saw  clearly 
that  this  was  owing  to  their  early  teaching  ;  that  is,  to  the 
views  which  they  had  been  led  to  entertain,  when  they  were 
young  converts. 

I  was  also  led  into  a  state  of  great  dissatisfaction  with 
my  own  want  of  stability  in  faith  and  love.  To  be  candid, 
and  tell  the  truth,  I  must  say,  to  the  praise  of  God's  grace, 
he  did  not  suffer  me  to  backslide,  to  anything  like  the  same 
extent  to  which  manifestly  many  Christians  did  backslide. 
But  I  often  felt  myself  weak  in  the  presence  of  temptation  ; 
and  needed  frequently  to  hold  days  of  fasting  and  prayer, 
and  to  spend  much  time  in  overhauling  my  own  religious 
life,  in  order  to  retain  that  communion  with  God,  and  that 
hold  upon  the  divine  strength,  that  would  enable  me  effi 
ciently  to  labor  for  the  promotion  of  revivals  of  religion. 

In  looking  at  the  state  of  the  Christian  church,  as  it  bud 
been  revealed  to  me  in  my  revival  labors,  I  was  led  earnestly 
bo  inquire  whether  there  was  not  something  higher  and  more 
enduring  than  the  Christian  church  was  aware  of  ;  whethej 
there  were  not  promises,  and  means  provided  in  the  Gospel, 
for  the  establishment  of  Christians  in  altogether  a  higher 
form  of  Christian  life.  I  had  known  somewhat  of  the  view 
of  sanctification  entertained  by  our  Methodist  brethren.  But 
as  their  idea  of  sanctification  seemed  to  me  to  relate  almost 
altogether  to  states  of  the  sensibility,  I  could  not  receive 
their  teaching.  However,  I  gave  myself  earnestly  to  search 
the  Scriptures,  and  to  read  whatever  came  to  hand  upon  the 
subject,  until  my  mind  was  satisfied  that  an  altogether  highei 
and  more  stable  form  of  Christian  life  was  attainable,  and 
was  the  privilege  of  all  Christians. 

This  led  me  to  preach  in  the  Broadway  Tabernacle,  two 
sermons  on  Christian  perfection.  Those  sermons  are 


SARLY    LABORS   IN   OBERLItf.  341 

included  in  the  volume  of  lectures  preached  to  Chustian*. 
In  those  sermons  I  defined  what  Christian  perfection  is,  and 
endeavored  to  show  that  it  is  attainable  in  this  life,  and  the 
sense  in  which  it  is  attainable.  But  about  this  time,  the 
question  of  Christian  perfection,  in  the  antinomian  sense  of 
the  term,  came  t,o  be  agitated  a  good  deal  at  New  Haven,  sf 
Albany,  and  somewhat  in  New  York  city.  I  examined 
these  views,  as  published  in  the  periodical  entitled  "The 
Perfectionist"  But  I  could  not  accept  them.  Yet  I  was 
satisfied  that  the  doctrine  of  sanctification  in  this  life,  and 
entire  sanctification,  in  the  sense  that  it  was  the  privilege  of 
Christians  to  live  without  known  sin,  was  a  doctrine  taught 
in  the  Bible,  and  that  abundant  means  were  provided  for  the 
securing  of  that  attainment. 

The  last  winter  that  I  spent  in  New  York,  the  Lord  was 
pleased  to  visit  my  soul  with  a  great  refreshing.  After  a 
season  of  great  searching  of  heart,  he  brought  me,  as  he  has 
often  done,  into  a  large  place,  and  gave  me  much  of  that 
divine  sweetness  in  my  soul,  of  which  President  Edwards 
speaks  as  attained  in  his  own  experience.  That  winter  I 
had  a  thorough  breaking  up ;  so  much  so  that  sometimes, 
for  a  considerable  period,  I  could  not  refrain  from  loud  weep 
ing  in  view  of  my  own  sins,  and  of  the  love  of  God  in  Christ. 
Such  seasons  were  frequent  that  winter,  and  resulted  in  the 
great  renewal  of  my  spiritual  strength,  and  enlargement  of 
my  views  in  regard  to  the  privileges  of  Christians,  and  the 
%bundance  of  the  grace  of  God. 

It  is  well  known  that  my  views  on  the  question  of  sanctifi 
cation  have  been  the  subject  of  a  good  deal  of  criticism.  To 
be  faithful  to  history,  I  must  say  some  things  that  I  would 
otherwise  pass  by  in  silence.  Oberlin  College  was  established 
by  Mr.  Shipherd,  very  much  against  the  feelings  and  wishes 
of  the  men  most  concerned  in  building  up  Western  Eeserve 
College,  at  Hudson.  Mr.  Shipherd  once  informed  me  that 
the  principal  financial  agent  of  that  college  asserted  to  him 
he  would  do  all  he  could  to  put  this  college  down.  A* 


342  MEMOIRS  OF  CHARLK8  G.    F1NBTET. 

soon  as  they  heard,  at  Hudson,  that  I  had  received  a  call  te 
Oberlin,  as  professor  of  theology,  the  trustees  elected  me  as 
professor  of  "pastoral  theology  and  sacred  eloquence,"  at 
Western  Reserve  college  ;  so  that  I  held  the  two  invitations 
at  the  same  time.  I  did  not,  in  writing,  commit  myself  to 
either,  but  came  on  to  survey  the  ground,  and  then  decide 
upon  the  path  of  duty. 

That  spring,  the  general  assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  held  their  meeting  at  Pittsburgh.  When  I  arrived 
at  Cleveland,  I  was  informed  that  two  of  the  professors  from 
Hudson,  had  been  waiting  at  Cleveland  for  my  arrival,  de 
signing  to  have  me  go  first,  at  any  rate,  to  Hudson.  But  I 
had  been  delayed  on  Lake  Erie  by  adverse  winds  ;  and  the 
brethren  who  had  been  waiting  for  me  at  Cleveland,  had 
gone  to  be  at  the  opening  of  the  general  assembly  ;  and  had 
left  word  with  a  brother,  to  see  me  immediately  on  my  arri 
val,  and  by  all  means  to  get  me  to  go  to  Hudson.  But  in 
Cleveland  I  found  a  letter  awaiting  me  from  Arthur  Tappan, 
:>f  New  York.  He  had  in  some  way  become  acquainted 
with  the  fact  that  strong  efforts  were  making  to  induce  me 
to  go  to  Hudson,  rather  than  to  Oberlin. 

The  college  at  Hudson,  at  that  time,  had  its  buildings 
and  apparatus,  reputation  and  influence,  and  was  already 
an  established  college.  Oberlin  had  nothing.  It  had  no 
permanent  buildings,  and  was  composed  of  a  little  colony 
settled  in  the  woods ;  and  just  beginning  to  put  up  their 
own  houses,  and  clear  away  the  immense  forest,  and  make  a 
place  for  a  college.  It  had,  to  be  sure,  its  charter,  and 
perhaps  a  hundred  students  on  the  ground  ;  but  everything 
was  still  to  be  done.  This  letter  of  brother  Tappan  was 
written  to  put  me  on  my  guard  against  supposing  that  I 
could  be  instrumental  in  securing,  at  Hudson,  what  we 
desired  to  secure  at  Oberlin. 

I  left  my  family  at  Cleveland,  hired  a  horse  and  buggy, 
and  came  out  to  Oberlin,  without  going  to  Hudson.  ] 
thought  at  least  that  I  would  see  Oberlin  first  When  I  ar 


343 

rived  at  Elyria,  I  found  some  old  acquaintances  there,  whom 
I  had  known  in  central  New  York.  They  informed  me  that 
the  trustees  of  Western  Reserve  College  thought  that,  If  they 
could  secure  my  presence  at  Hudson,  it  would,  at  least  in  a 
great  measure,  defeat  Oberlin  ;  and  that  at  Hudson  ther* 
was  an  old  school  influence,  of  sufficient  power  to  compel  nu 
to  fall  in  with  their  views  and  course  of  action.  This  was 
in  precise  accordance  with  the  information  which  I  had 
received  from  Mr.  Tappan. 

I  came  to  Oberlin,  and  saw  that  there  vas  nothing  to 
prevent  the  building  up  of  a  college,  on  the  principles  that 
seemed  to  me  not  only  to  lie  at  the  foundation  of  all  success 
in  establishing  a  college  here  at  the  West,  but  on  princi 
ples  of  reform,  such  as  I  knew  were  dear  to  the  hearts  of 
those  who  h*%d  undertaken  the  support  and  building  up  of 
Oberlin  Collage.  The  brethren  that  were  here  on  the 
ground,  were  heartily  in  favor  of  building  up  a  school  on 
radical  principles  of  reform.  I  therefore  wrote  to  the 
trustees  of  Hudson,  declining  to  accept  their  invitation,  and 
took  up  my  abode  at  Oberlin.  I  had  nothing  ill  to  say  of 
Hudson,  and  I  knew  no  ill  of  it. 

After  a  year  or  two,  the  cry  of  antinomian  perfectionism 
was  heard,  and  this  charge  brought  against  us.  Letters 
were  written,  and  ecclesiastical  bodies  were  visited,  and 
much  pains  taken  to  represent  our  views  here  as  entirely 
heretical.  Such  representations  were  made  to  ecclesiastical 
bodies,  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  as  to 
lead  many  of  them  to  pass  resolutions,  warning  the  churches 
against  the  influence  of  Oberlin  theology.  There  seemed  to 
be  a  general  union  of  ministerial  influence  against  us.  We 
understood  very  well  here  what  had  set  this  on  foot,  and  by 
what  means  all  this  excitement  was  raised.  But  we  said 
nothing  We  had  no  controversy  with  those  brethren  that, 
we  were  aware,  were  taking  pains  to  raise  such  a  powerful 
public  sentiment  against  us.  I  may  not  enter  into  particu 
lars  :  but  suffice  it  to  say,  that  the  weapons  that  were  thu? 


MEMOIRS   OF   CHABLES   Q.    FIKNEY. 

formed  against  us,  reacted  most  disastrously  upon  those  who 
used  them,  until  at  length  there  was  a  change  of  nearly  aD 
the  members  of  the  board  of  trustees  and  the  faculty,  »t 
Hudson,  and  the  general  management  of  the  college  fell  into 
other  hands. 

I  scarcely  ever  heard  anything  said  at  Oberlin,  at  that 
time,  against  Hudson,  or  at  any  timo.  We  kept  about  oui 
own  business,  and  felt  that  in  respect  to  opposition  from  that 
quarter,  our  strength  was  to  sit  still ;  and  we  were  not  mis 
taken.  We  felt  confident  that  it  was  not  God's  plan  to  suffer 
such  opposition  to  prevail.  I  wish  to  oe  distinctly  under 
stood,  that  I  am  not  at  all  aware  that  any  of  the  present 
leaders  and  managers  of  that  college  have  sympathised  with 
what  was  at  that  time  done,  or  that  they  so  much  as  know 
the  course  that  was  then  taken. 

The  ministers,  far  and  near,  owned  their  opposition  to  a 
great  extreme.  At  that  time  a  convention  was  called  to 
meet  at  Cleveland,  to  consider  the  subject  of  Western  educa 
tion,  and  the  support  of  Western  colleges.  The  call  had 
been  so  worded  that  we  went  out  from  Oberlin,  expecting 
to  take  part  in  the  proceedings  of  the  convention.  When 
we  arrived  there,  we  found  Dr.  Beecher  on  the  ground  ;  and 
soon  saw  that  a  course  of  proceedings  was  on  foot,  to  shut  out 
Oberlin  brethren,  and  those  that  sympathized  with  Oberlin, 
from  the  convention.  I  was  therefore  not  allowed  a  seat  in 
the  convention  as  a  member ;  yet  I  attended  several  of  its 
sessions.  I  recollect  hearing  it  distinctly  said,  by  one  of  the 
ministers  from  the  neighborhood,  who  was  there,  that  he 
regarded  Oberlin  doctrines  and  influence  a*  worse  than  those 
of  Roman  Catholicism. 

That  speech  was  a  representative  one,  and  seemed  to  be 
about  the  view  that  was  entertained  by  that  body.  I  do  not 
mean  by  all  of  them,  by  any  means.  Some  who  had  been 
educated  in  theology  at  Oberlin,  were  so  related  to  the 
churches  and  the  convention,  that  they  were  admitted  to 
seats,  having  come  there  from  different  Darts  of 


EARLY  LABORS  IN  OBERLLN.  346 

ITiese  were  very  outspoken  upon  the  principles  and  practices 
of  Oberlin,  so  far  as  they  were  called  in  question.  The  ob 
ject  of  the  convention  evidently  was,  to  hedge  in  Oberlin  on 
every  side,  and  crush  us,  by  a  public  sentiment  that  would 
refuse  us  all  support.  But  let  i*.,  be  distinctly  understood 
to  say,  that  I  do  not  in  the  least  degree  blame  the  members 
of  that  convention,  or  but  very  few  of  them  ;  for  I  knew 
that  they  had  been  misled,  and  were  acting  under  an  entire 
misapprehension  of  the  facts.  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  was  the 
leading  spirit  in  that  convention. 

The  policy  that  we  pursued  was  to  let  opposition  alone. 
We  kept  about  our  own  business,  and  always  had  as  many 
students  as  we  knew  what  to  do  with  Our  hands  were 
always  full  of  labor,  and  we  were  always  great1;;  encouraged 
in  our  efforts. 

A  few  years  after  the  meeting  of  tnis  convention,  one  of 
the  leading  ministers  who  was  there,  came  and  spent  a  da^ 
or  two  at  oar  house.  He  said  to  me  among  other  things  : 
"  Brother  Finney,  Oberlin  is  to  us  a  great  wonder."  Said 
he,  "I  have,  for  many  years  been  connected  with  a  college 
as  one  of  its  professors.  College  life  and  principles,  and  the 
conditions  upon  which  colleges  are  built  up,  are  very  fami 
liar  to  me.  We  have  always  thought,"  said  he,  "that 
colleges  could  not  exist  unless  they  were  patronized  by  the 
ministry.  We  knew  that  young  men  who  were  about  to  go 
to  college,  would  generally  consult  their  pastors,  in  regard  to 
what  colleges  they  should  select,  and  be  giuled  by  their 
judgment.  Now,"  said  he,  "  the  ministers  almost  univer 
sally  arrayed  themselves  against  Oberlin.  They  were  de 
ceived  by  the  cry  of  antinomian  perfectionism,  and  in 
respect  to  your  views  of  reform ;  and  ecclesiastical  bodies 
united,  far  and  near,  Congregational,  and  Presbyterian,  and 
of  all  denominations.  They  warned  their  churches  against 
you,  they  discouraged  young  men  universally  from  coming 
to  Oberlin,  and  still  the  Lord  has  built  you  up.  You  have 
supported  with  funds,  better  than  almost  any  collesfe 


346  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G.    FIKNEY. 

in  the  West ;  you  have  had  by  far  more  students,  and  the 
blessing  of  God  has  been  upon  you,  so  that  your  success 
has  been  wonderful.  Now,"  said  he,  "this  is  a  perfect 
anomaly  in  the  history  of  colleges.  The  opposers  of  Oberlin 
have  been  confounded,  and  God  has  stood  by  you,  and  sus 
tained  you,  through  all  this  opposition,  so  that  you  have 
hardly  felt  it." 

It  is  difficult  now  for  people  to  realize  the  opposition 
that  we  met  with,  when  we  first  established  this  college.  As 
an  illustration  of  it,  and  as  a  representative  case,  I  will 
relate  a  laughable  fact  that  occurred  about  the  time  of  which 
I  am  speaking.  I  had  occasion  to  go  to  Akron,  to  preach 
on  the  Sabbath  I  went  with  a  horse  and  buggy.  OD  my 
way,  beyond  the  village  of  Medina,  I  observed,  in  the  road 
before  me,  a  woman  walking  with  a  little  bundle  in  her  hand. 
As  I  drew  near  her,  I  observed  she  was  an  elderly  woman, 
nicely  dressed,  but  walking,  as  I  thought,  with  some  diffi 
culty,  on  account  of  her  age.  As  I  came  up  to  her  I  reined 
up  my  horse,  and  Asked  her,  how  far  she  was  going  on  that 
road.  She  told  me  ;  and  I  then  asked  if  she  would  accept 
a  seat  in  my  buggy,  and  ride.  "0,"  she  replied,  "  I  should 
be  very  thankfui  for  a  ride,  for  I  find  I  have  undertaken  too 
long  a  walk. "  I  helped  her  into  my  buggy,  and  drove  on. 
I  found  her  a  very  intelligent  lady,  and  very  free  and  home 
like  in  her  conversation. 

After  riding  for  some  distance,  she  said,  "  May  I  ask  to 
whom  I  am  indebted  for  this  ride  ?  "  I  told  her  who  I  was. 
She  then  inquired  from  whence  I  came.  I  told  her  I  was 
from  Oberlin,  This  announcement  startled  her.  She  madf 
a  motion  as  if  she  would  sit  as  far  from  me  as  she  could  ; 
and  turning  and  looking  earnestly  at  me,  she  said,  "  From 
Oberlin  !  why,"  said  she,  "our  minister  said  he  would  just 
as  soon  send  a  son  to  state-prison  as  to  Oberlin  ! "  Of  course 
I  smiled  and  soothed  the  old  lady's  fears,  if  she  had  any  ; 
and  made  her  understand  she  was  in  no  danger  from  me.  I 
relate  this  simply  as  an  illustration  of  the  spirit  that  pre 


EARLY  LABORS  AT  OBERLItf.  347 

vailed  very  extensively  when  this  college  was  first  establish  ecL 
Misrepresentation  s  and  misapprehension s  abound  ed  on  every 
side;  and  these  misapprehensions  extended  into  almost  every 
corner  of  the  United  States 

However  there  was  a  great  number  of  laymen,  and  no 
inconsiderable  number  of  ministers,  on  the  whole,  in  diiferent 
parts  of  the  country,  who  had  no  confidence  in  this  opposi 
tion  :  who  sympathized  with  our  aims,  our  views,  our 
efforts,  and  who  stood  firmly  by  us  through  thick  and  thin; 
and  knowing,  as  they  did,  the  strtiitness  to  which,  for  the 
time,  we  were  reduced  because  of  this  opposition,  they  gave 
their  money  and  their  influence  freely  to  help  us  forward. 

I  have  spoken  of  Mr.  Chapin,  of  Providence,  as  having 
for  several  years,  sent  me  six  hundred  dollars  a  year,  on 
which  to  support  my  family.  When  he  had  done  it  as  long 
as  he  thought  it  his  duty, — which  he  did,  indeed,  until 
financial  difficulties  rendered  it  inconvenient  for  him  longer 
to  do  so; — Mr.  Willard  Sears  of  Boston  took  his  place,  and 
for  several  years  suffered  me  to  draw  on  him  for  the  same 
amount,  annually,  that  Mr.  Chapin  had  paid  In  the  mean 
time,  efforts  were  constantly  made  to  sustain  the  other  mem 
bers  of  the  faculty;  and  by  the  grace  of  God  we  rode  out 
the  gale.  After  a  few  years  the  panic,  in  a  measure, 
subsided. 

President  Mahan,  Professor  Cowles,  Professor  Morgan, 
and  myself,  published  on  the  subject  of  sanctification.  We 
established  a  periodical,  "The  Oberlin  Evangelist,"  and 
afterwards,  "The  Oberlin  Quarterly,"  in  which  we  dis 
abuse  I  the  public,  in  a  great  measure,  in  regard  to  what  our 
real  views  were.  In  1846, 1  published  two  volumes  on  sys 
tematic  theology;  and  in  this  work  I  discussed  the  subject 
of  entire  sanctification,  more  at  large.  After  this  work  was 
published,  it  was  reviewed  by  a  committee  of  the  Presbytery 
of  Troy,  New  York.  Then  Dr.  Hodge  of  Princeton,  pub 
lished,  in  the  Biblical  Repertory,  a  lengthy  criticism  upon 
my  theology.  This  was  from  the  old  school  stead-point, 


348  MEMOIRS   Of   CHARLES   «. 

Then  Dr.  Duffield,  of  the  New  School  Presbyterian  Church, 
living  at  Detroit,  reviewed  me,  professedly  from  the  new 
school  stand-point,  though  his  review  was  far  enough  from 
consistent  new-schoolism.  To  these  different  reviews,  as 
they  appeared,  i  published  replies  ;  and  for  many  years  past, 
so  far  as  I  am  aware,  no  disposition  has  been  shown  to 
impugn  our  orthodoxy. 

I  have  thus  far  narrated  the  principal  facts  connected 
with  the  establisniuent  and  struggles  of  the  school  at  Oberlin, 
so  far  as  I  have  been  concerned  with  them.  And  being  the 
professor  of  theology,  the  theological  opposition  was  directed, 
of  course,  principally  toward  myself ;  which  has  led  me,  of 
necessity,  to  speak  more  freely  of  my  relations  to  it  all,  than 
I  otherwise  should  have  done.  But  let  me  not  be  misunder 
stood.  I  am  not  contending  that  the  brethren  wiio  thus 
opposed  were  wicked  in  their  opposition.  No  doubt  the 
great  mass  of  them  were  really  misled,  and  acted  according 
to  their  views  of  right,  as  they  then  understood  it. 

I  must  say,  for  the  honor  of  the  grace  of  God,  that  none 
of  the  opposition  that  we  met  with  ruffled  our  spirits  here, 
or  disturbed  us,  in  such  a  sense  as  to  provoke  us  into  a  spirit 
of  controversy  or  ill  feeling.  We  were  well  aware  of  the 
pains  that  had  been  taken  to  lead  to  these  misapprehensions, 
and  could  easily  understand  how  it  was,  that  we  were  op 
posed  in  the  spirit  and  manner  in  which  we  were  assailed. 

During  these  years  of  smoke  and  dust,  of  misapprehen 
sion  and  opposition  from  without,  the  Lord  was  blessing  us 
richly  within.  We  not  only  prospered  in  our  own  souls  here, 
as  a  church,  but  we  had  a  continuous  re  rival,  or  were,  in 
what  might  properly  be  regarded  as  a  revival  state.  Our 
students  were  converted  by  scores ;  and  the  Lord  overshad 
owed  us  continually  with  the  cloud  of  his  mercy.  Gales  of 
divine  influence  swept  over  us  from  year  to  year,  producing 
abundantly  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  "love,  joy,  peace,  long- 
suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness,  temper 


EARLY   LABORS   Iff   OBERLIN.  349 

1  have  always  attributed  our  success  in  this  good  work 
entirely  to  the  grace  of  God.  It  was  no  wisdom  or  good 
ness  of  our  own  that  has  achieved  this  success.  Nothing 
but  continued  divine  influence,  pervading  the  community, 
sustained  us  under  our  trials,  and  kept  us  in  an  attitude  of 
mind  in  which  we  could  be  efficient  in  the  work  we  had 
undertaken.  We  have  always  felt  thai  t  che  Lord  withheld 
his  Spirit,  no  outward  circumstances  could  make  us  truly 
prosperous. 

We  have  had  trials  among  ourselves.  Frequent  subjects 
of  public  discussion  have  come  up  ;  and  we  have  sometimes 
spent  days,  and  even  weeks,  in  discussing  great  questions 
of  duty  and  expediency,  on  which  we  have  not  thought 
alike.  But  these  questions  have  none  of  them  permanently 
divided  us.  Our  principle  has  been  to  accord  to  each  other 
the  right  of  private  judgment.  We  have  generally  come  to 
a  substantial  agreement  on  subjects  upon  which  we  had  dif 
fered  ;  and  when  we  have  found  ourselves  unable  to  see  alike, 
the  minority  have  submitted  themselves  to  the  judgment  o* 
the  majority,  and  the  idea  of  rending  the  church  to  pieces, 
because  in  some  things  we  ^ould  not  see  alike,  has  never  been 
entertained  by  us.  We  have  *o  a  rery  great  extent  preserved 
"  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  th«  bond  of  peace  ;  "  and  perhaps 
no  community  has  existed  for  such  a  length  of  time,  and 
passed  through  such  trials  and  changes  as  we  have,  that  has 
on  the  whole  maintained  a  greater  spirit  of  harmony,  Chris 
tian  forbearance,  and  brotherly  love. 

When  the  question  of  entire  sanctification  first  came  up 
here  for  public  discussion,  and  when  the  subject  first  attracted 
the  general  attention  of  the  church,  we  were  in  the  midst  of 
a  powerful  revival.  When  the  revival  was  guing  on  hope 
fully,  one  day  President  Mahan  had  been  preaching  a  search 
ing  discourse.  I  observed  in  the  course  of  his  preaching 
that  he  had  left  one  point  untouched,  that  appeared  to  me 
of  great  importance  in  tha,t  connection.  He  would  often 
s»k  me,  when  he  closed  his  sermon,  if  I  had  any  remarks  ** 


350  MEMOIRS  OF  CHARLES   G.  FINNEY. 

make,  and  thus  he  did  on  this  occasion.  I  arose  and  pressed 
the  point  that  he  had  omitted.  It  was  the  distinction 
between  desire  and  will.  From  the  course  of  thought  he 
had  presented,  and  from  the  attitude  in  which  I  saw  that 
the  congregation  was  at  the  time,  I  saw,  or  thought  I  saw, 
that  the  pressing  of  that  distinction,  just  at  that  point, upon 
the  people,  would  throw  much  light  upon  the  question 
whether  they  were  really  Christians  or  not,  whether  they 
were  really  consecrated  persons,  or  whether  they  merely  had 
desires  without  being  in  fact  willing  to  obey  God. 

When  this  distinction  was  made  clear,  just  in  that  con 
nection,  I  recollect  the  Holy  Spirit  fell  upon  the  con grega 
tion  in  a  most  remarkable  manner.  A  large  number  of 
persons  dropped  down  their  heads,  and  some  groaned  so 
that  they  could  be  heard  throughout  the  house.  It  cut  up 
the  false  hopes  of  deceived  processors  on  every  side.  Several 
arose  on  the  spot,  and  said  that  they  had  been  deceived,and 
that  they  could  see  wherein  ;  and  this  was  carried  to  such 
an  extent  as  greatly  astonished  me,  and  indeed  produced  a 
a  general  feeling  of  astonishment,  I  think  in  the  con 
gregation. 

The  work  went  on  with  power;  and  old  professors 
obtained  new  hopes,  or  were  reconverted,  in  such  numbers, 
that  a  very  great  and  important  change  came  over  the  whole 
community.  President  Mahan  had  been  greatly  blessed, 
among  others, with  some  of  our  professors.  He  came  mani 
festly  into  a  entirely  new  form  of  Christian  experience,  at 
that  time. 

In  a  meeting  a  few  days  after  this,  one  of  our  theological 
students  arose, and  put  the  enquiry, whether  the  Gospel  did 
not  provide  for  Christians  all  the  conditions  of  an  es 
tablished  faith,  and  hope,  and  love;  whether  there  was  not 
something  better  and  higher  than  Christians  had  generally 
experienced ;  in  short,  whether  sanctification  was  not  attain 
able  in  this  life;  that  is,  sanctification  in  such  a  sense  that 
Christians  could  have  unbroken  peace,  and  not  come  into 


EARLY   LABORS   IN   OBERLIN.  351 

condemnation,  or  have  the  feeling  of  condemnation  or  a 
consciousness  of  sin.  Brother  Mahan  immediately  an 
swered,  "  Yes."  What  occurred  at  this  meeting,  brought 
the  question  of  sanctification  prominently  before  us,  as  a 
practical  question.  We  had  no  theories  on  the  subject,  no 
philosophy  to  maintain,  but  simply  took  it  up  as  a  Bible 
question. 

In  this  form  it  existed  among  us,  as  an  experimental 
truth,  which  we  did  not  attempt  to  reduce  to  a  theological 
formula ;  nor  did  we  attempt  to  explain  its  philosophy, 
until  years  afterwards.  But  the  discussion  of  this  question 
was  a  great  blessing  to  us,  and  to  a  great  number  of  our 
itudents,  who  are  now  scattered  in  various  parts  of  the 
Country,  or  have  gone  abroad  as  missionaries  to  differen* 
parts  of  the  world. 


CHAPTER  XX\. 

LABORS   IX   BOSTON   AXD   PEOVIDK8TOE. 

BEFORE  I  return  to  my  revival  record,  in  order  to  give 
some  idea  of  the  relation  of  things,  I  must  dwell  a  lit 
tle  more  upon  the  progress  of  the  anti-slavery,  or  abolition 
movement,  not  only  at  Oberlin,  but  elsewhere,  as  connected 
with  my  own  labors.  I  have  spoken  of  the  state  of  public 
feeling  on  this  subject,  all  around  us,  and  have  mentioned 
that  even  the  legislature  of  the  state,  at  that  time  democratic, 
endeavored  to  find  some  pretext  for  repealing  our  charter, 
because  of  our  anti-slavery  sentiments  and  action.  It  was 
at  first  reported  on  every  side  of  us,  that  we  intended  to  en 
courage  marriage  between  colored  and  white  students,  and 
even  to  compel  them  to  intermarry  ;  and  that  our  object  was 
to  introduce  a  universal  system  of  miscegenation.  A  little  fact 
will  illustrate  the  feeling  that  existed  among  many  people  in 
the  neighborhood.  I  had  occasion  to  ride  out  a  few  miles, 
soon  after  we  came,  and  called  upon  a  farmer  on  some  errand 
He  looked  very  sullen  and  suspicious,  when  he  found  who  1 
was,  and  from  whence  I  came  ;  and  intimated  to  me  that  he 
did  not  want  to  have  anything  to  do  with  the  people  of 
Oberlin  ;  that  our  object  was  to  introduce  amalgamation  of 
the  races,  and  compel  the  white  and  colored  students  to 
intermarry;  that  we  also  intended  to  bring  about  the 
union  of  church  and  state,  and  that  our  ideas  and  projects 
were  altogether  revolutionary  and  abominable.  He  was 
quite  in  earnest  about  this.  But  the  thing  was  so  ridiculous, 
that  I  knew  that  if  I  attempted  a  serious  answer,  I  should 
laugh  him  in  the  f  aoe. 

We  had   reason,  at  an  early  day,  for  apprehension  that  a 


LABORS   IK   BOSTON.  3fr? 

mob  from  a  neighboring  town  would  come  and  destroy  ou: 
buildings.  But  we  had  not  been  here  long,  before  circum 
stances  occurred  that  created  a  reaction  in  the  public  mind. 
This  place  became  one  of  the  points  on  "  the  underground 
railroad,"  as  it  has  since  been  called,  where  escaped  slaves,  OB 
their  way  to  Canada,  would  take  refuge  for  a  day  or  two, 
until  the  way  was  open  for  them  to  proceed.  Several  cases 
occurred  in  which  these  fugitives  were  pursued  by  slave 
holders  ;  and  a  hue  and  cry  was  raised,  not  only  in  this 
neighborhood,  but  in  the  neighboring  towns,  by  their 
attempting  to  carry  the  slaves  back  into  slavery.  Slave- 
catchers  found  no  practical  sympathy  among  the  people  ;  and 
scenes  like  these  soon  aroused  public  feeling  in  the  towns 
around  about,  and  began  to  produce  a  reaction.  It  set  the 
farmers  and  people  around  us  to  study  more  particularly 
into  our  aims  and  views,  and  our  school  soon  became 
known  and  appreciated  ;  and  it  has  resulted  in  a  state  of 
universal  confidence  and  good  feeling  between  Oberlin  and 
the  surrounding  region. 

In  the  meantime,  the  excitement  on  the  subject  of  slavery 
was  greatly  agitating  the  Eastern  cities,  as  well  as  the  West 
and  the  South.  Our  friend,  Mr.  Willard  Sears,  of  Boston, 
was  braving  a  tempest  of  opposition  there.  And  in  order  to 
open  the  way  for  a  free  discussion  on  that  subject  in  Boston, 
and  for  the  establishment  of  religious  worship,  where  a  pul 
pit  should  be  open  to  the  free  discussion  of  all  great  ques 
tions  of  reform,  he  had  purchased  the  Marlborough  hotel  on 
Washington  street,  and  had  connected  with  it  a  large  chapel 
for  public  worship,  and  for  reform  meetings,  that  could  not 
find  an  entrance  anywhere  else.  This  he  had  done  at  greai 
expense.  In  1842,  I  was  strongly  urged  to  go  and  occupy  the 
Marlborough  chapel,  and  preach  for  a  few  months.  I  went 
and  began  my  labors,  and  preached  with  all  my  might  for 
two  months.  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  was  immediately 
poured  out,  and  there  was  a  general  agitation  among  the 
dry  bones,  T  was  visited  at  my  room  almost  constantlv,  dur 


354  MEMOIKS  OF  CHARLES  G.  FINtfEY 

ing  every  day  of  the  week,  by  inquirers  from  all  parts  of  the 
city,  and  many  were  obtaining  hopes  from  day  to  day. 

At  this  time  Elder  Knapp,  the  well  known  Baptist  re 
vivalist,  was  laboring  in  Providence,  and  under  much  oppo 
sition.  He  was  invited  by  the  Baptist  brethern  at  Boston  to 
come  and  labor  there.  He  therefore  left  Providence  and 
came  to  Boston.  At  the  same  time,  Mr.  Josiah  Chapin  and 
many  others,  were  insisting  very  strongly  upon  my  coming 
and  holding  meetings  in  Providence.  I  felt  very  much 
indebted  to  Mr.  Chapin  for  what  he  had  done  for  Oberlin, 
and  for  myself  personally.  It  was  a  great  trial  for  me  to 
leave  Boston,  at  this  time.  However,  after  seeing  brother 
Knapp  and  informing  him  of  the  state  of  things,  I  left  and 
went  to  Providence.  This  was  the  time  of  the  great  revival 
in  Boston.  It  prevailed  wonderfully,  especially  among  the 
Baptists,  and  more  or  less  throughout  the  city.  The  Bap 
tist  ministers  took  hold  with  brother  Knapp,  and  many 
Congregational  brethren  were  greatly  blessed,  and  the  work 
was  very  extensive. 

In  the  meantime ,  I  commenced  my  labors  in  Providence. 
The  work  began  almost  immediately,  and  the  interest  visi 
bly  increased  from  day  to  day.  There  were  many  striking 
cases  of  conversion;  among  them  was  an  elderly  gentleman 
whose  name  I  do  not  recollect.  His  father  had  been  a  Judge 
of  the  supreme  court  in  Massachusetts,  if  I  mistake  notf 
many  years  before.  This  old  gentleman  lived  not  far  from 
the  church  where  I  was  holding  my  meetings,  in  High  street. 
After  the  work  had  gone  on  for  some  time,  I  observed  a  very 
venerable  looking  gentleman  come  into  meeting,  who  paid 
very  strict  attention  to  the  preaching.  My  friend,  Mr. 
Chapin,  immediately  noticed  him;  and  informed  me  who  he 
was,  and  what  his  religious  views  were.  He  said  he  had 
never  been  in  the  habit  of  attending  religious  meetings;  and 
he  expressed  a  very  great  interest  in  the  man,  and  in  the 
fact  that  he  had  been  drawn  out  to  meeting.  1  observed 
that  he  continued,  night  after  night,  to  come;  and  could 


LABORS   LST   PROVIDENCE.  355 

easily  perceive,  as  I  thought,  that  his  mind  was  very  much 
agitated,  and  deeply  interested  on  the  question  of  religion. 

One  evening  as  I  came  to  the  close  of  my  sermon,  this 
venerable  looking  man  rose  up,  and  asked  if  he  might  ad 
dress  a  few  words  to  the  people.  I  replied  in  the  affirma 
tive.  He  then  spoke  in  substance  ae  follows  :  "  My  friends 
and  neighbors,  you  are  probably  surprised  to  see  me  attend 
these  meetings.  You  have  known  iny  sceptical  views,  and 
that  I  have  not  been  in  the  habit  of  attending  religious 
meetings,  for  a  long  time.  But  hearing  of  the  state  of  things 
in  this  congregation,  I  came  in  here  ;  and  I  wish  to  have  my 
friends  and  neighbors  know  that  I  believe  that  the  preaching 
we  are  hearing,  from  night  to  night,  is  the  Gospel.  I  have 
altered  my  mind,"  said  he.  "I  believe  this  is  the  truth,  and 
the  true  way  of  salvation.  I  say  this,"  he  added,  "that  you 
)nay  understand  my  real  motive  for  coming  here  ;  that  it  is 
aot  to  criticise  and  find  fault,  but  to  attend  to  the  great 
question  of  salvation,  and  to  encourage  others  to  attend  to 
it."  He  said  this  with  much  emotion,  and  sat  down. 

There  was  a  very  large  Sabbath-school  room  in  the  base 
ment  of  the  church.  The  number  of  inquirers  had  become 
too  large,  and  the  congregation  too  much  crowded,  to  call 
the  inquirers  forward,  as  I  had  done  in  some  places  ;  and  I 
therefore  requested  them  to  go  down,  after  the  blessing  was 
pronounced,  to  the  lecture-room  below.  The  room  was 
nearly  as  large  as  the  whole  audience  room  of  the  church, 
and  would  seat  nearly  as  many,  aside  from  the  gallery.  The 
work  increased,  and  spread  in  every  part  of  the  city,  until 
the  number  of  inquirers  became  so  great,  together  with  the 
young  converts,  who  were  always  ready  to  go  below  with 
them,  as  nearly  or  quite  to  fill  that  large  room.  From  night 
to  night,  after  preaching,  that  room  would  be  filled  with  re 
joicing  young  converts,  and  trembling,  inquiring  sinners. 
This  state  of  things  continued  for  two  months.  I  was  then, 
as  I  thought,  completely  tired  out ;  having  labored  inces 
santly  for  four  months,  two  in  Boston,  and  two  in  Providence 


356  MEMOIRS   OF    CHARLES   G.    PITNEY. 

Beside,  the  time  of  year  had  come,  or  nearly  come,  for  the 
opening  of  our  spring  term  in  Oberlin.  I  therefore  took 
my  leave  of  Providence,  and  started  for  home. 

There  was  one  circumstance  which  occurred  in  Boston, 
that  I  think  it  my  duty  to  relate.  A  Unitarian  woman  had 
been  converted  in  Boston,  who  was  an  acquaintance  of  the 

Rev.  Dr.  C .     Hearing  of  her  conversion,  Dr.  C ,  as 

she  informed  me,  sent  for  her  to  visit  him,  as  he  was  in 
feeble  health,  and  could  not  well  call  on  her.     She  complied 
with  his  request,  and  he  wished  her  to  tell  him  the  exercises 
of  her  mind,  and  her  Christian  experience,  and  the  circum 
stances  of  her  conversion.     She  did  so,  and  the  doctor  mani 
fested  a  great  interest  in  her  change  of  mind  ;  and  inquired 
of  her  if  she  had  anything  that  I  had  written  and  published, 
that  he  could  read.     She  told  him  that  she  had  a  little  work 
of  mine,  which  had  been  published,  on  the  subject  of  sano- 
tification.     He  borrowed  it,  and  told  her  that  he  would  read 
it ;  and  if  she  would  call  again  in  a  week,  he  should  be  happy 
to  have  farther  conversation  with  her.     At  the  close  of  the 
week,  she  returned  for  her  book,  and  the  doctor  said,  "  I  am 
rery  much  interested  in  this  book,  and  in  the  views  that  are 
here  set  forth.     1  understand,"  says  he,  "  that  the  orthodox 
object  to  this  view  of  sanctification,  as  it  is  presented  by  Mr. 
Finney  ;  but  I  cannot  see,  if  Christ  is  divine  and  truly  God, 
why  this  view  should  be  objected  to  ;  nor  can  I  see  any  in- 
oongistency,  in  holding  this  as  a  part  of  the  orthodox  faith. 
Yet  I  should  like  to  see  Mr.  Finney.     Cannot  you  persuade 
him  to  call  on  me  ?   for  I  cannot  go  and  see  him."     She 
called  at  my  lodgings  ;  but  I  had  left  Boston  for  Providence 
After  an  absence  of  two  months,  I  was  again  in  Boston,  and 
this  lady  called  immediately  to  see  me,  and  gave  me  the  in 
formation  which  1  have  related.     But  he  had  then  gone  into 
the  country,  on  account  of  his  health.     I  greatly  regretted 
not  having  an  opportunity  to  see  him.     But  he  died  shortly 
after,  and  of  his  subsequent  religious  history  I  know  noth 
ing.     Nor  can  I  vouch  for  the  truth  of  what  this  lady  said 


LABORS   Iff   PROVIDENCE.  357 

She  was  manifestly  honest  in  her  communication  ;  and  I  had 
QO  doubt  that  every  word  she  told  me  was  true.  But  she 
was  a  stranger  to  me,  and  I  cannot  recollect  her  name  at  this 
distance  of  time.  The  next  time  I  met  Dr.  Beecher,  Dr. 

C 's  name  was  mentioned,  and  I  related  to  him  this  fact 

The  tears  started  in  his  eyes,  in  a  moment,  and  he  said 
emotion,  "  I  guess  he  has  gone  to  heaven  I » 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE   REVIVAL  IN   ROCHESTER,   IN   1842. 

AFTER  resting  a  day  or  two  ,n  Boston,  I  left  for  home, 
Being  very  weary  with  labor  and  travel,  I  called  on  a 
friend  at  Rochester,  to  take  a  day's  rest  before  proceeding 
farther.  As  soon  as  it  was  known  that  I  was  in  Rochester, 
Judge  Gr called  on  me,  and  with  much  earnestness,  re 
quested  me  to  stop  and  preach.  Some  of  the  ministers  also, 
insisted  upon  my  stopping,  and  preaching  for  them.  I  in 
formed  them  that  I  was  worn  out,  and  the  time  had  come 
for  me  to  be  at  home.  However,  they  were  very  urgent,  and 
especially  one  of  the  ministers,  whose  wife  was  one  of  my 

spiritual  daughters,  the  Sarah  B ,  of  whom  I  have  spoken, 

as  having  been  converted  in  Western.  I  finally  consented  to 
stop,  and  preach  a  sermon  or  two,  and  did  so.  But  this 
Drought  upon  me  a  more  importunate  invitation,  to  remain 
and  hold  a  series  of  meetings.  I  decided  to  remain,  and, 
though  wearied,  went  on  with  the  work. 

Mr.  G-eorge  S.  Boardman  was  pastor  of  what  was  then, 
called,  the  Bethel,  or  Washington  street  church ;  and 
Mr.  Shaw,  of  the  Second  or  Brick  church.  Mr.  Shaw  was 
veiy  anxious  to  unite  with  Mr.  Boardman,  and  have  the 
meetings  at  their  churches  alternately.  Mr.  Boardman  was 
indisposed  to  take  this  course,  saying  that  his  congregation 
was  weak,  and  needed  the  concentration  of  my  labors  at  that 
point.  I  regretted  this  ;  but  still  I  could  not  overrule  it,  and 
went  on  with  my  labors  at  the  Bethel,  or  Washington  street 
church.  Soon  after,  Dr.  Shaw  secured  the  labors  of  Rev. 
Jedediah  Burchard  in  his  church,  and  undertook  a  protracted 
effort  there 


REVIVAL  IN   ROCHESTER.  359 

In  the  meantime,  Judge  G had  united  with  other 

members  of  the  bar  in  a  written  request  to  me  to  preach  a 
course  of  sermons  to  lawyers,  adapted  to  their  ways  of  think 
ing.  Judge  G was  then  one  of  the  judges  of  the  court 

of  appeals  in  the  state,  and  held  a  very  high  place  in  the 
estimation  of  the  whole  profession  I  consented  to  deliver 
the  course  of  lectures.  I  was  aware  of  the  half  sceptical 
state  of  mind  in  which  those  members  of  the  bar  were,  many 
of  them  at  least,  who  were  still  unconverted.  There  was 
still  left  in  the  city  a  goodly  number  of  pious  lawyers,  who 
had  been  converted  in  the  revival  of  1830  and  '31. 

I  began  my  course  of  lectures  to  lawyers,  by  asking  this 
question :  "Do  we  know  anything  ? "  and  followed  up  the 
inquiry  by  lecturing,  evening  niter  evening.  My  congrega 
tion  became  very  select.  Brother  Burchard's  meetings 
opened  an  interesting  place  for  one  class  of  the  community, 
and  made  more  room  for  the  lawyers,  and  those  especially 
attracted  by  my  course  of  lectures,  in  the  house  where  I  was 
preaching.  It  was  completely  filled,  every  night  As  I  pro 
ceeded  in  my  lectures,  from  night  to  night,  I  observed  the 
interest  constantly  deepening. 

As  Judge  G 's  wife  was  a  particular  friend  of  mine,  I 

had  occasion  to  see  him  not  unfrequently,  and  was  very  sure 
that  the  word  was  getting  a  strong  hold  of  him.  He  re 
marked  to  me  after  I  had  delivered  several  lectures,  "  Mr. 
Finney,  you  have  cleared  the  ground  to  my  satisfaction,  thus 
far  ;  but  when  you  come  to  the  question  of  the  endless  pun 
ishment  of  the  wicked,  you  will  slip  up  ;  you  will  fail  to  con 
vince  us  on  that  question."  I  replied,  "  Wait  and  see, 
Judge. v  This  hint  made  me  the  more  careful,  when  I  came 
to  that  point,  to  discuss  it  with  all  thoroughness.  The  next 
day  I  met  him,  and  he  volunteered  the  remark  at  once, 
"  Mr.  Finney,  I  am  convinced.  Your  dealing  with  that  sub 
ject  wag  a  success  ;  nothing  can  be  said  against  it "  The  man 
ner  in  which  he  said  this,  indicated  that  the  subject  had  not 
merely  convinced  his  intellect,  but  had  deeply  impressed  him. 


360  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   Q.    FOOJfiY 

I  was  going  on  from  night  to  night,  but  had  not  thought 
my  somewhat  new  and  select  audience  yet  prepared  for  me 
to  call  for  any  decision,  on  the  part  of  inquirers.  But  I  had 
arrived  at  a  point  where  I  thought  it  was  time  to  draw  the 
net  ashore.  I  had  been  carefully  laying  it  around  the  whole 
mass  of  lawyers,  and  hedging  them  in,  as  I  supposed,  by  a 
train  of  reasoning  that  they  could  not  resist.  I  was 
aware  that  lawyers  are  accustomed  to  listen  to  argument, 
to  feel  the  weight  of  a  logically  presented  truth  ;  an£  had  no 
doubt  that  the  great  majority  of  them  were  thoroughly  con 
vinced,  as  far  as  I  had  gone  •  consequently  I  had  prepared  a 
discourse,  which  I  intended  should  bring  them  to  the  point, 
and  if  it  appeared  to  take  effect,  I  intended  to  call  on  them 

to  commit  themselves.     Judge   G ,  at  the  time   I  was 

there  before,  when  his  wife  was  converted,  had  opposed  the 
anxious  seat.  I  expected  he  would  do  so  agxim,  as  I  knev 
he  had  strongly  committed  himself,  in  what  he  had  said, 
against  the  use  of  the  anxious  seat.  When  I  came  to  preach 
the  sermon  of  which  I  have  spoken,  I  observed  that  Judge 

G was  not  in  the  seat  he  had  usually  occupied  ;  and  on 

looking  around  I  could  not  see  turn  anywhere  among  the 
members  of  the  bar  or  the  judges.  I  felt  concerned  about 
this,  for  I  had  prepared  myself  with  reference  to  his  case. 
I  knew  his  influence  was  great,  and  that  if  he  would  take  a 
decided  stand,  it  would  have  a  very  great  influence  upon  all 
the  legal  profession  in  the  city.  However  I  soon  observed 
that  he  had  come  into  the  gallery,  and  had  found  a  seat  just 
at  the  head  of  the  gallery  stairs,  where  he  sat  wrapped  ir 
itis  cloak  I  went  on  with  my  discourse ;  but  near  the  clost 

of  whai  ;;  designed  to  say,  I  observed  that  Judge  Gr haJ 

gone  from  his  seat.  I  felt  distressed,  for  I  concluded  that, 
a*  it  was  cold  where  he  sat,  and  perhaps  there  was  some 
confusion,  it  being  near  the  head  of  the  stairs,  he  had  gone 
home  ;  and  hence  that  the  sermon  which  I  had  prepared 
with  my  eye  upon  him,  had  failed  of  its  effect. 

3Trom  the  basement  room  of  the  church,  there  wai  a  Bar- 


BEV1TAL  IN   ROCHESTER.  361 

row  stairway  into  the  audience-room  above,  coming  up  just 
by  the  side  of,  and  partly  behind,  the  pulpit.  Just  as  I  was 
drawing  my  sermon  to  a  close,  and  with  my  heart  almost 
sinking  with  the  fear  that  I  was  to  fail,  in  what  I  had  hoped 
to  secure  that  night,  I  felt  some  one  pulling  at  the  skirt  of 

my  coat.    I  looked  around,  and  there  was  Judge  G .    He 

kad  gone  down  through  the  basement  room,  and  ,*j>  those 
narrow  stairs,  and  crept  up  the  pulpit  steps,  far  enough  to 
reach  me,  and  pull  me  by  the  coat.  When  I  turned  around 
to  him,  and  beheld  him  with  great  surprise,  he  said  to  me, 
"  Mr.  Finney,  won't  you  pray  for  me  by  name  ?  and  I  will 
take  the  anxious  seat."  J  had  said  nothing  about  an  anxious 
seat  at  all.  The  congregation  had  observed  this  movement 

on  the  part  of  Judge  G ,  as  he  came  up  on  the  pulpit 

itairs  ;  and  when  I  announced  to  them  what  he  said,  it  pro 
duced  a  wonderful  shock.  There  was  a  great  gush  of  feeling, 
in  every  part  of  the  house.  Many  held  down  their  heads 
and  wept ;  others  seemed  to  be  engaged  in  earnest  prayer. 
He  crowded  around  in  front  of  the  pulpit,  and  knelt  imme 
diately  down.  The  lawyers  arose  almost  en  masse,  and 
crowded  into  the  aisles,  and  filled  the  open  space  in  front, 
wherever  they  could  get  a  place  to  kneel.  The  movement 
nad  begun  without  my  requesting  it ;  but  1  then  publicly 
invited  any,  who  were  prepared  to  renounce  their  sins,  and 
give  their  hearts  to  God,  and  to  accept  Christ  and  his  salva 
tion,  to  come  forward,  into  the  aisles,  or  wherever  they  could, 
and  kneel  down.  There  was  a  mighty  movement.  We 
prayed,  and  then  1  dismissed  the  meeting. 

As  I  had  been  preaching  every  night,  and  could  not  give 
up  an  evening  to  a  meeting  of  inquiry,  I  appointed  a  meet 
ing  for  the  instruction  of  inquirers,  the  next  day  at  two 
o'clock,  in  the  basement  of  the  church.  When  I  went,  I  was 
surprised  to  find  the  room  nearly  full,  and  that  the  audience 
was  composed  almost  exclusively  of  the  more  prominent 
citizens.  This  meeting  I  continued  from  day  to  day,  having 
w  opportunity  to  converse  freely,  with  great  numbers  ;  aiui 


362  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES    G.    FINITE*. 

they  were  as  teachable  as  children.  I  never  attended  a 
more  interesting  and  affecting  meeting  of  inquiry,  I  think 
than  that.  A  large  number  of  the  lawyers  were  converted. 

Judge  G ,  I  might  say,  at  their  head  •  as  he  had  taken 

the  lead  in  coming  out  on  the  side  of  Christ. 

I  remained  there,  at  that  time,  two  months.  The  revival 
became  wonderfully  interesting  ana  powerful,  and  resulted 
in  the  conversion  of  great  numbers.  It  took  a  powerful 
hold  in  one  of  the  Episcopal  churches,  St.  Luke's,  of  which 
Dr.  Whitehouse,  the  present  bisnop  of  Illinois,  was  pastor. 
When  I  was  in  Reading,  Pa.,  several  years  before,  Dr.  White- 
house  was  preaching  to  an  Episcopal  congregation  in  that 
city  ;  and,  as  one  of  his  most  intelligent  ladies  informed  me, 
was  greatly  blessed  in  his  soul,  in  that  revival.  When  I  came 
to  Rochester,  in  1830,  he  was  the  pastor  of  St.  Luke's  ;  and, 
as  I  was  informed,  encouraged  his  people  to  attend  our  meet 
ings,  and  I  was  told  that  many  of  them  were  at  that  time 
converted.  So  also  in  this  revival,  in  1842,  I  was  informed 
that  he  encouraged  his  people,  and  advised  them  to  attend  the 
meetings.  He  was  himself  a  very  successful  pastor,  and  had 
great  influence  in  Rochester.  I  h&  -e  been  informed  that  in 
this  revival,  in  1842,  not  less  thai'  seventy,  and  those  almost 
all  among  the  principal  people  01  his  congregation,  were 
converted,  and  confirmed  in  his  church. 

One  striking  incident  I  must  mention.  I  had  insisted 
much,  in  my  instructions,  upon  entire  consecration  to  God, 
giving  up  all  to  &im,  body,  and  soul,  and  possessions,  anr* 
everything,  to  be  forever  thereafter  used  for  his  glory,  as  a 
condition  of  acceptance  with  God.  As  was  my  custom  in 
rsnvals,  f  made  this  as  prominent  as  I  well  could.  One  day 
as  I  went  into  meeting,  one  of  the  lawyers  with  whom  I  had 
formed  some  acquaintance,  and  who  had  been  in  deep 
anxiety  of  mind,  I  found  waiting  at  the  door  of  the  church. 
As  I  went  in,  he  took  out  of  his  pocket  a  paper,  and  handed 
me,  remarking,  "  I  deliver  this  to  you  as  the  servant  of  the 
Lord  Jesns  Oh  risk"  I  put  it  in  my  pocket  until  af-fir  meet 


aJBVIVAL   IN    KOCHESTEK.  363 

mg.  On  examining  it,  I  found  it  to  be  a  quit-claim  deed, 
made  out  in  regular  order,  and  executed  ready  for  delivery, 
in  which  he  quit-claimed  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  all  owner 
ship  of  himself,  and  of  everything  he  possessed.  The  deed 
was  in  due  form,  with  all  the  peculiarities  and  formalities  of 
such  conveyances.  I  think  I  have  it  still  among  my  papers, 
He  appeared  to  be  in  solemn  earnest,  and  so  far  as  I  could 
see,  was  entirely  intelligent  in  what  he  did.  But  I  must  not 
go  farther  into  particulars. 

As  it  regards  the  means  used  in  this  revival,  I  would  say, 
that  the  doctrines  preached  were  those  that  I  always  preached, 
everywhere.  The  moral  government  of  God  was  made 
prominent ;  and  the  necessity  of  an  unqualified  and  uni 
versal  acceptance  of  God's  will,  as  a  rule  of  k?<&  ;  the  accept 
ance  by  faith,  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Saviour  of  the 
world,  and  in  all  his  official  relations  and  work  ;  and  the 
sanctification  of  the  «oul  through  or  by  the  truth.  These  and 
kindred  doctrines  were  dwelt  upon  as  time  would  perm 
and  as  tht>  necessities  of  the  people  seemed  to  reoV"' 

The  treasures  were  simply  preaching  trie  gospel,  ana 
abundant  prayer,  in  private,  in  social  circles,  and  in  public 
prayer-meetings  ;  much  stress  being  always  laid  upon  prayer 
as  an  essential  means  of  promoting  the  revival.  Sinners 
were  not  encouraged  to  expect  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  convert 
them,  while  they  were  passive  ;  and  never  told  to  wait  God's 
time,  but  were  taught,  unequivocally,  that  their  first  and 
immediate  duty  was,  to  submit  themselves  to  God,  to  re 
nounce  their  own  will,  their  own  way,  and  themselves,  and 
instantly  to  deliver  up  all  that  they  were,  and  all  that  they 
had,  to  their  rightful  owner,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  They 
were  taught  here,  as  everywhere  in  those  revivals,  that  the 
only  obstacle  in  the  way  was  their  own  stubborn  will  ;  that 
God  was  trying  to  gain  their  unqualified  consent  to  give  up 
their  sins,  and  accept  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  their  right 
eousness  and  salvation.  The  point  was  frequently  urged 
upon  them  to  give  their  consent  ;  and  they  were  told  that 


MBMOIKS   OF   CHAELES   G. 

the  only  difficulty  was,  to  get  their  own  honest  and  earnest 
consent  to  the  terms  upon  which  Christ  would  save  them, 
and  the  lowest  terms  upon  which  they  possibly  could  be 
saved. 

Meetings  of  inquiry  were  held,  for  the  purpose  of  adapt 
ing  instruction  to  those  who  were  in  different  stages  of  con 
viction  ;  and  after  conversing  with  them,  as  long  as  I  had 
time  and  strength,  I  was  in  the  habit  of  summing  up  at  last, 
and  taking  up  representative  cases,  and  meeting  all  their 
objections,  answering  all  their  questions,  correcting  all  their 
errors,  and  pursuing  such  a  course  of  remark,  as  was  calcu 
lated  to  strip  them  of  every  excuse,  and  bring  them  face  to 
face  with  the  great  question  of  present,  unqualified,  univer 
sal  acceptance  of  the  will  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus.  Faith  in 
God,  and  God  in  Christ,  was  ever  made  prominent.  They 
were  informed  that  this  faith  is  not  a  mere  intellectual  assent, 
but  is  the  consent  or  trust  o;  the  heart,  a  voluntary,  intelli 
gent  trust  in  God,  as  he  is  revealed  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 

The  doctrine  of  the  justice  of  endless  punishment  was 
fully  insisted  upon  ;  and  not  only  its  justice,  but  the  cer 
tainty  that  sinners  will  be  endlessly  punished,  if  they  die  in 
their  sins,  was  strongly  held  forth.  On  all  these  points  the 
Gospel  was  so  presented  as  to  give  forth  no  uncertain  sound. 
This  was  at  least  my  constant  aim,  and  the  aim  of  all  whc 
gave  instructions.  The  nature  of  the  sinner's  dependence 
upon  divine  influence,  was  explained,  and  enforced,  and 
made  prominent  Sinners  were  taught  that,  without  the 
divine  teaching  and  influence,  it  is  certain,  from  their 
depraved  state,  that  they  never  would  be  reconciled  to  God  ; 
and  yet  that  their  want  of  reconciliation  was  simply  their 
own  hardness  of  heart,  or  the  stubbornness  of  their  own 
wills,  so  that  their  dependence  upon  the  Spirit  of  God  is 
no  excuse  for  their  not  being  Christians  at  once.  These 
points  that  I  have  noticed,  air  d  others  which  logically  flow 
from  them,  were  held  &*rth  in  every  aspect,  so  far  as  time 
permit. 


REVIVAL   IN   ROCHESTER.  365 

Sinners  were  never  taught,  in  those  revivals,  that  they 
needed  to  expect  conversion  in  answer  to  their  own  prayers. 
They  were  told  that  if  they  regarded  iniquity  ir-  their  hearts, 
the  Lord  would  not  hear  them  ;  and  that  *nile  they  re 
mained  impenitent,  they  did  regard  iniquity  in  their  hearts. 
I  do  not  mean  that  they  were  exhorted  not  to  pray.  The} 
were  informed  that  God  required  them  to  pray,  but  to  prav 
in  faith,  to  pray  in  the  spirit  of  repentance  ;  and  that  when 
they  asked  God  to  forgive  them,  they  were  to  commit  them 
selves  unalterably  to  his  will.  T.1  ey  were  taught,  expressly, 
that  mere  impenitent  and  u  ibelieving  prayer  is  an 
abomination  to  God  ;  but  that  if  they  were  truly  disposed 
to  offer  acceptable  prayer  to  God,  they  could  do  it ;  for  that 
there  was  nothing  but  their  own  obstinacy  in  tke  way  of 
their  offering  acceptable  prayer  at  once.  They  were  never 
left  to  think  that  they  could  do  their  duty  in  any  respect, 
could  perform  any  duty  whatever,  unless  they  gave  their 
hearts  to  God.  To  repent,  to  believe,  to  submit,  as  inward 
acts  of  the  mind,  were  the  first  duties  to  be  performed  ;  and 
until  these  were  performed,  no  outward  act  whatever  was 
doing  their  duty.  That  for  them  to  pray  for  a  new  heart, 
while  they  did  not  give  themsel?^  .p  to  God,  was  to  tempt 
God  ;  that  to  pray  for  forgiveness  until  they  truly  repented, 
was  to  insult  God,  and  to  ask  him  to  do  what  he  had  no 
right  to  do ;  that  to  pray  in  unbelief,  was  to  charge  God 
with  lying,  instead  of  doing  their  duty  ;  and  that  all  their 
unbelief  was  nothing  but  a  blasphemous  charging  of  God 
with  lying.  In  short,  pains  were  taken  to  shut  the  sinner 
up  to  accepting  Christ,  his  whole  will,  atonement,  official 
work  and  official  relations,  cordially,  and  with  fixed  purpose 
of  heart,  renouncing  all  sin,  all  excuse- making,  all  unbelief, 
all  hardness  of  heart,  and  every  wicked  thing,  in  heart,  and 
life,  here,  and  now,  and  forever. 

I  have  always  been  particularly  interested  in  the  salva 
tion  of  lawyers,  and  of  all  men  of  the  legal  profession. 
To  that  profession  I  wap  myself  educated.  I  understood 


366  MEMOIKS   OP   CHARLES    G. 

pretty  well  their  habits  of  reading  and  thinking,  and  kne* 
that  they  were  more  certainly  controlled  by  argument,  by 
evidence,  and  by  logical  statements,  than  any  other  class  oi 
men.  I  have  always  found,  wherever  I  have  labored,  that 
when  the  Gospel  was  properly  presented,  they  were  the  most 
accessible  class  of  men  ;  and  I  believe  it  is  true  that,  in  pro 
portion  to  their  relative  number,  in  any  community,  more 
nave  been  converted,  than  of  any  other  class.  I  have  been 
particularly  struck  with  thisx  a  the  manner  in  which  a  clear 
presentation  of  the  Law  and  <-.-*  the  Gospel  of  Go'l,  will  carry 
the  intelligence  of  judges,  men  who  are  in  the  nabit  of  sit 
ting  and  hearing  testimony,  and  weighing  arguments  on  both 
sides.  I  have  never,  to  my  recollection,  seen  a  case,  in  which 
judges  were  not  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  Gospel,  where 
they  have  attended  meetings,  in  the  revivals  which  I  have 
witnessed.  I  have  often  been  very  much  affected,  in  convers 
ing  with  members  of  the  legal  profession,  by  the  manner  in 
which  they  would  consent  to  propositions,  to  which  persons 
of  ill-disciplined  minds  would  have  objected. 

There  was  one  of  the  judges  of  the  court  of  appeals,  liv 
ing  in  Rochester,  who  seemed  to  be  possessed  of  a  chronic 
scepticism.  He  was  a  reader  and  a  thinker,  a  man  of  great 
refinement,  and  of  great  intellectual  honesty.  His  wife, 
having  experienced  religion  under  my  ministry,  was  a  par 
ticular  friend  of  mine.  I  have  had  very  thorough  conversa 
tion  with  that  man.  He  always  freely  confessed  to  me  that 
the  arguments  were  conclusive,  and  that  his  intellect  was 
carried,  by  the  preaching  and  the  conversation.  He  said  to 
me,  "  Mr.  Finney,  you  always  in  your  public  discourses 
carry  me  right  along  with  you ;  but  while  I  assent  to  the 
truth  of  all  that  you  say,  I  do  not  feel  right ;  somehow  my 
heart  does  not  respond. "  He  was  one  of  the  loveliest  of  un 
converted  men,  and  it  was  both  a  grief  and  a  pleasure  to 
converse  with  him.  His  candor  and  intelligence  made  con 
versation  with  him,  OD  religious  subjects,  a  great  pleasure ; 
but  his  chronic  unbelief  rendered  it  exceedingly  painful. ,  I 


KEVIYAL  IN   ROCHESTER.  367 

have  conversed  with  him  more  than  once,  when  his  whole 
mind  seemed  to  be  agitated  to  its  lowest  depths.  And  yet, 
so  far  as  I  know,  he  has  never  been  converted.  His  praying 
and  idolized  wife  has  gone  to  her  grave.  His  only  child,  a  son, 
was  drowned  before  his  eyes.  After  these  calamities  had  be 
fallen  him,  I  wrote  him  a  letter,  referring  to  some  converse 
tions  I  had  had  with  him,  and  trying  to  win  him  to  a  source 
from  which  he  could  get  consolation.  He  replied  in  all  kind 
ness  ;  but  dwelling  upon  his  loss,  he  said,  there  could  be  no 
consolation  that  could  meet  a  case  like  that.  He  was  truly 
blind  to  all  the  consolation  he  could  find  in  Christ.  He 
could  not  conceive  how  he  could  ever  accept  this  dispensa 
tion,  and  be  happy.  He  has  lived  in  Kochester,  through  one 
great  revival  after  another ;  and  although  his  mouth  was 
shut,  so  that  he  had  no  excuse  to  make,  and  no  refuge  to 
which  he  could  betake  himself,  still  so  far  as  I  know,  he  has 
mysteriously  remained  in  unbelief.  I  have  mentioned  his 
case,  as  an  illustration  of  the  manner  in  which  the  intelli 
gence  of  the  legal  profession  can  be  carried,  by  thy  iorce  of 
truth.  When  I  come  to  speak  of  the  next  revival  in  Ro 
chester,  in  which  I  had  a  share,  I  shall  have  occasion  to  men 
tion  other  „ ,  ..stances  that  will  illustrate  the  same  point. 

Several  «»f  the  lawyers  that   were  at  this  time  converted 
in  Rochester,  gave  up  their  profession  and  went  into  the 

ministry.     Among  these  was  one  of  Chancellor  W 's  sons, 

at  that  time  a  young  lawyer  in  Rochester,  and  who  appeared 
at  the  time  to  be  soundly  converted.  For  some  reason,  with 
which  I  am  not  acquainted,  he  went  to  Europe  asi  to  Rome, 
and  finally  became  a  Roman  Catholic  priest.  He  has  been 
for  years  laboring  zealously  to  promote  revivals  of  religion 
among  them,  holding  protracted  meetings ;  and,  as  he  told 
me  himself,  when  I  met  him  in  England,  trying  to  accom 
plish  in  the  Roman  Catholic  church  what  I  was  endeavor 
ing  to  accomplish  in  the  Protestant  church.  Mr.  W 

seems  to  be  an  earnest  minister  of  Christ,  given  up,  heart 
soul,  to  the  salvation  "f  Roman  Catholics.     How  far  he 


368  MEMOIBS   OF   OHABLES   G. 

Agrees  with  all  their  views,  I  cannot  say.  When  I  was  in 
England,  he  was  there,  and  sought  me  out,  and  came  very 
affectionately  to  see  me  ;  and  we  had  just  as  pleasant  an 
nterview,  so  far  as  I  know,  as  we  should  have  had,  if  we 
had  both  been  Protestants.  He  said  nothing  of  his  peculiar 
views,  but  only  that  he  was  laboring  among  the  Roman 
Catholics,  to  promote  revivals  of  religion.  Many  ministers 
have  been  the  fruits  of  the  great  revivals  in  Rochester. 

It  was  a  fact  that  often  greatly  interested  me,  when  labor 
ing  in  that  city,  that  lawyers  *rould  come  to  my  room,  when 
they  were  pressed  hard,  and  were  on  the  pol-t  of  submission, 
for  conversation  and  light,  on  some  point  which  they  did  not 
clearly  apprehend  ;  and  I  observed,  again  and  again,  that 
when  those  points  were  cleared  up,  they  were  ready  at  once 
to  submit  Indeed,  as  a  general  thing,  iney  take  a  more 
intelligent  view  of  the  whole  plan  of  salvation,  than  any  other 
class  of  men  to  whom  I  have  ever  preached,  or  with  whom  I 
have  ever  conversed. 

Very  many  physicians  have  also  been  converted,  in  the 
great  revivals  which  I  have  witnessed.  I  think  their  studies 
incline  them  to  scepticism,  or  to  a  form  of  materialism.  Yet 
they  are  intelligent ;  and  if  the  Gospel  is  thoroughly  set  before 
them,  stripped  of  those  peculiar  features  which  are  embodied 
in  hyper-calvinism,  they  are  easily  convinced,  and  as  readily 
converted,  as  any  other  class  of  the  people.  Their  studies, 
as  a  general  thing,  have  not  prepared  them  so  readily  to 
apprehend  the  moral  government  of  God,  as  those  of  the 
legal  profession.  But  still  I  have  found  them  open  to  con- 
action,  and  by  no  means  a  difficult  class  of  persons  to  deal 
*ith,  upon  the  great  question  of  salvation. 

I  have  everywhere  found,  that  the  peculiarities  of  hyper- 
calvinism  have  been  a  great  stumbling-block,  both  of  the 
church  and  of  the  world.  A  nature  sinful  in  .ieelf,  &  total 
inability  to  accept  Christ,  and  to  obey  God,  condemnation  to 
eternal  death  for  the  sin  of  Adam,  and  for  a  sinful  nature, 
and  all  the  kindred  and  resultant  dogmas  of  that  peculiar 


REVIVAL  IK   ROCHESTER.  369 

school,  have  been  the  stumbling-block  of  believers  and  the 
ruin  of  sinners. 

Universalism,  Unitarianism,  and  indeed  all  forms  of  fun 
damental  error,  have  given  way  and  fallen  out  of  sight  in  the 
presence  of  great  revivals.  I  have  learned,  again  and  again, 
that  a  man  needs  only  to  be  thoroughly  convicted  of  sin  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  to  give  up  at  once  and  forever,  and  gladly 
give  up,  Universalism  and  Unitarianism.  When  I  speak  of 
the  next  great  revival  in  Rochester,  I  shall  have  occasion  to 
speak  more  fully  of  the  manner  in  which  sceptics,  if  a  right 
course  is  taken  with  them,  are  sometimes  shut  up  to  condem 
nation,  by  their  own  irresistible  convictions  ;  so  that  they  will 
rejoice  to  find  a  door  of  mercy  opened  through  the  revela 
tions  that  are  made  in  the  Scriptures.  But  this  I  leave  ta 
be  introduced  in  the  proper  order. 


CHAPTER  XXVLL 

ANOTHER   WINTER   IN    BOSTOJf. 

IN  the  fall  of  1843,  I  was  called  again  to  Boston.  At  mj 
last  visit  there,  it  was  the  time  of  the  greatest  excitement 
in  Boston,  on  the  subject  of  the  second  advent  of  Christ. 
Mr.  Miller,  who  was  at  the  head  of  the  movement,  was  there 
lecturing,  and  was  holding  daily  Bible  classes,  in  which  he 
was  giving  instruction,  and  inculcating  his  peculiar  views ; 
and  his  teaching  led  to  intense  excitement,  involving  much 
that  was  wild  and  irrational.  I  attended  Mr.  Miller's  Bible 
class  once  or  twice  ;  after  which  I  invited  him  to  my  room, 
and  tried  to  convince  him  that  he  was  in  error.  I  called  his 
attention  to  the  construction  which  he  put  on  the  prophecies  ; 
and,  as  I  thought,  showed  him  that  he  was  entirely  mistaken, 
in  some  of  his  fundamental  views.  He  replied,  that  I  had 
adopted  a  course  of  investigation  that  would  detect  his  errors, 
if  he  had  any.  I  tried  to  show  him  that  his  fundamental 
error  was  already  detected. 

The  last  time  that  I  had  attended  his  Bible  class,  he  was 
inculcating  the  doctrine  that  Christ  would  come  personally, 
and  destroy  his  enemies,  in  1843.  He  gave  what  he  called  an 
exposition  of  the  prophecy  of  Daniel,  on  the  subject.  He 
said,  the  stone  cut  out  of  the  mountain  without  hands,  that 
rolled  down  and  destroyed  the  image  there  spoken  of,  was 
Christ.  When  he  came  to  my  room  I  called  his  attention  to 
the  fact,  that  the  prophet  affirmed  expressly  that  the  stone 
was  not  Christ,  but  the  kingdom  of  God ;  and  that  the 
prophet  there  represented  the  church,  or  the  kingdom  of 
God,  as  demolishing  the  image.  This  was  so  plain,  that  Mr. 
Miller  was  obliged  to  acknowledge  that  that  was  indeed  a 


ANOTHER   WIXTBB  IN   B08TOH.  371 

fact ;  and  that  it  was  not  Christ  that  was  going  to  destroy 
those  nations,  but  the  kingdom  of  God.  I  then  asked  him 
if  he  supposed  that  the  kingdom  of  God  would  destroy  those 
nations,  in  the  sense  in  which  he  taught  that  they  would  be 
destroyed,  with  the  sword,  or  with  making  war  upon  them  ? 
He  said,  no,  he  could  not  believe  that.  I  then  inquired, 
:<  Is  it  not  the  overthrow  of  the  governments  that  is  intended, 
instead  of  the  destruction  of  the  people  ?  and  is  not  this  to 
be  done,  by  the  influence  of  the  church  of  God,  in  enlighten 
ing  their  minds  by  the  Gospel  ?  And  if  this  is  the  meaning, 
where  is  the  foundat  ion  for  your  teaching,  that,  at  a  certain 
time,  Christ  is  comi  .g  in  person  to  destroy  all  the  peoples 
of  the  earth  ?"  I  said  to  him,  "Now  this  is  fundamental 
to  your  teaching.  This  is  the  great  point  to  which  you  call 
attention  in  your  classes  ;  and  here  is  a  manifest  error,  the 
very  words  of  the  prophet  teaching  the  direct  opposite  to 
what  you  teach."  But  it  was  vain  to  reason  with  him,  and 
his  followers,  at  that  time.  Believing,  as  they  most  certainly 
did,  that  the  advent  of  Christ  was  at  hand,  it  was  no  wonder 
that  they  were  too  wild  with  excitement,  to  be  reasoned  with 
to  any  purpose. 

When  I  arrived  there,  in  the  fall  of  1843,  I  found  that 
that  particular  form  of  excitement  had  blown  over ;  but 
many  forms  of  error  prevailed  among  the  people.  Indeed  I 
have  found  that  to  be  true  of  Boston,  of  which  Dr.  Beecher 
assured  me,  the  first  winter  that  I  labored  there.  He  said  to 
me,  "Mr.  Finney,  you  cannot  labor  here  as  you  do  any 
where  else.  You  have  got  to  pursue  a  different  course  of 
instruction,  and  begin  at  the  foundation ;  for  Unitarianism 
ia  a  system  of  denials,  and  under  its  teaching,  the  founda 
tions  of  Christianity  are  fallen  away.  You  cannot  take  any 
thing  for  granted  ;  for  the  Unitarians  and  the  Universaliste 
have  destroyed  the  foundations,  and  the  people  are  all  afloat 
The  masses  have  no  settled  opinions,  and  every  '  lo  here/  01 
'lo  there,'  finds  a  hearing;  and  almost  any  conceivable 
form  of  error  may  get  a  footing." 


872  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G.    FINKED. 

I  have  since  found  this  to  be  true,  to  a  greater  extent  than 
in  any  other  field,  in  which  I  have  ever  labored.  The  mass 
of  the  people  in  Boston  are  more  unsettled  in  their  religious 
convictions  than  in  any  other  place  that  I  have  ever  labored 
in,  notwithstanding  their  intelligence ;  for  they  are  surely  a 
very  intelligent  people,  on  all  questions  but  that  of  religion. 
It  is  extremely  difficult  to  make  religious  truths  lodge  in 
their  minds,  because  the  influence  of  Unitarian  teaching  has 
been,  to  lead  them  to  call  in  question  all  the  principal  doc 
trines  of  the  Bible.  Their  system  is  one  of  denials.  Their 
theology  is  negative.  They  deny  almost  everything,  and 
affirm  almost  nothing.  In  such  a  field,  error  finds  the  ears  of 
the  people  open  ;  and  the  most  irrational  views,  on  religious 
subjects,  come  to  be  held  by  a  great  many  people. 

I  began  my  labors  in  the  Marlborough  chapel  at  this  time, 
and  found  there  a  very  singular  state  of  things.  A  church 
had  been  formed,  composed  greatly  of  radicals ;  and  most 
of  the  members  held  extreme  views  on  various  subjects. 
They  had  come  out  from  other  orthodox  churches,  and 
united  in  a  church  of  their  own,  at  Marlborough  chapel. 
They  were  staunch,  and  many  of  them  consistent,  reformers, 
They  were  good  people  ;  but  I  cannot  say  that  they  were  a 
united  people.  Their  extreme  views  seemed  to  be  an  ele 
ment  of  mutual  repellence  among  them.  Some  of  them 
were  extreme  non-resistants,  and  held  it  to  be  wrong  to  use 
any  physical  force,  or  any  physical  means  whatever,  even  in 
controlling  their  own  children.  Everything  must  be  done 
by  moral  suasion.  Upon  the  whole,  however,  they  were  a 
praying,  earnest,  Christian  people.  I  found  no  particular 
difficulty  in  getting  along  with  them  ;  but  at  that  time  the 
Miller  excitement,  and  various  other  causes,  had  been  oper 
ating  to  beget  a  good  deal  of  confusion  among  them.  They 
tfere  not  at  all  in  a  prosperous  state,  as  a  church. 

A  young  man  by  the  name  of  S had  risen  up  among 

them,  who  professed  to  be  a  prophet.  I  had  many  conversa 
tions  with  him,  and  tried  to  convince  him  that  he 


AXOTHEK   WINTER   IN    BOSTON.  373 

wrong  ;  and  I  labored  with  his  followers,  to  try  to  make  them 
see  that  he  was  wrong.  However,  I  found  it  impossible  to 
do  anything  with  him,  or  with  them,  until  he  finally  com 
mitted  himself  on  several  points,  and  predicted  that  certain 
vhmgs  would  happen,  at  certain  dates.  One  was  that  his 
father  would  die  on  a  certain  day.  I  then  said  to  him  : 
1 '  Now  we  shall  prove  you.  Now  the  truthfulness  of  your 
pretensions  will  bb  tested.  If  these  things  that  you  predict 
come  to  pass,  and  come  to  pass,  as  you  say  they  will,  at  cer 
tain  times,  then  we  shall  have  reason  to  believe  that  you  are 
a  prophet.  But  if  they  do  not  come  to  pass,  it  will  prove 
that  you  are  deceived."  This  he  could  not  deny.  As  the 
good  providence  of  God  would  have  it,  these  predictions 
related  to  events  but  a  few  weeks  from  the  time  the  predic 
tions  were  uttered.  He  had  staked  his  reputation  as  a 
prophet,  upon  the  truth  of  these  predictions,  and  awaited 
their  fulfilment  Of  course  they  every  one  of  them  failed, 
and  he  failed  with  them  ;  I  never  heard  anything  more  of  his 
predictions.  But  he  had  confused  a  good  many  minds,  and 
really  neutralized  their  efforts;  and  I  am  not  aware  that 
those  who  were  his  followers,  ever  regained  their  former  in 
fluence  as  Christians. 

During  this  winter,  the  Lord  gave  my  own  soul  a  very 
thorough  overhauling,  and  a  fresh  baptism  of  his  Spirit.  1 
boarded  at  the  Marlborough  hotel,  and  my  study  and  bed 
room  were  in  one  corner  of  the  chapel  building.  My  mind 
was  greatly  drawn  out  in  prayer,  for  a  long  time  ;  as  indeed 
it  always  has  been,  when  I  have  labored  in  Boston.  I  have 
been  favored  there,  uniformly,  with  a  great  deal  of  the  spirit 
of  prayer.  But  this  winter,  in  particular,  my  mind  was  ex 
ceedingly  exercised  on  the  question  of  personal  holiness ; 
and  in  respect  to  the  state  of  the  church,  their  want  of 
power  with  God  ;  the  weakness  of  the  orthodox  churches  in 
Boston,  the  weakness  of  their  faith,  and  their  want  of  power 
in  the  midgt  of  such  a  community.  The  fact  that  they  were 


8?4  .MEMOIRS    OF   CHARLES    G. 

making  little  or  no  progress  in  overcoming  theerrcis  of  thai 
city,  greatly  affected  my  mind. 

I  gave  myself  to  a  great  deal  of  prayer.  After  my 
evening  services,  I  would  retire  as  early  as  I  well  could  ;  but 
rose  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  because  I  could  sleep  no 
longer,  and  immediately  went  to  the  study,  and  engaged  in 
prayer.  And  so  deeply  was  my  mind  exercised,  and  so  ab 
sorbed  in  prayer,  that  I  frequently  continued  from  the  time 
I  arose,  at  four  o'clock,  till  the  gong  called  to  breakfast,  at 
eight  o'clock.  My  days  were  spent,  so  far  as  I  could  get 
time,  in  searching  the  Scriptures.  I  read  nothing  else,  all  thai 
winter,  but  my  Bible ;  and  a  great  deal  of  it  seemed  new  to 
me.  Again  the  Lord  took  me,  as  it  were,  from  Genesis  to 
Revelation.  He  led  me  to  see  the  connection  of  things,  the 
promises,  threatenings,  the  prophecies  and  their  fulfilment ; 
and  indeed,  the  whole  Scripture  seemed  to  me  all  ablaze  with 
light,  and  not  only  light,  but  it  seemed  as  if  God's  word  was 
instinct  with  the  very  life  of  God. 

After  praying  in  this  way  for  weeks  and  months,  one 
morning  while  I  was  engaged  in  prayer,  the  thought  occurred 
to  me,  what  if,  after  all  this  divine  teaching,  my  will  is  not 
carried,  and  this  teaching  takes  effect  only  in  my  sensibility  ? 
May  it  not  be  that  my  sensibility  is  affected,  by  these  revela 
tions  from  reading  the  Bible,  and  that  my  heart  is  not  really 
subdued  by  them  ?  At  this  point  several  passages  of  scrip 
ture  occurred  to  me,  such  as  this  :  "  Line  must  be  upon  line, 
line  upon  line,  precept  upon  precept,  precept  upon  precept, 
here  a  little,  and  there  a  little,  that  they  might  go  and  fall 
backward,  and  be  snared  and  taken."  The  thought  that  1 
might  be  deceiving  myself,  when  it  first  occurred  to  me,  stung 
me  almost  like  an  adder.  It  created  a  pang  that  I  cannot  de 
scribe.  The  passages  of  Scripture  that  occurred  to  me,  in  that 
direction,  for  a  few  moments  greatly  increased  my  distress. 
But  directly  I  was  enabled  to  fall  back  upon  the  perfect  will 
of  God.  I  fjaid  to  the  Lord,  that  if  he  saw  it  was  wise  and 
best,  a.nd  that  his  honor  demanded  that  I  should  be  left  to 


ANOTHER  WINTER  IK   BOSTON  375 

be  deluded,  and  go  down  to  hell,  I  accepted  his  will,  and  I 
said  to  him,  "  Do  with  me  as  seemeth  thee  good." 

Just  before  this  occurrence,  I  had  a  great  struggle  to 
consecrate  myself  to  God,  in  a  higher  sense  than  I  had  ever 
before  seen  to  be  my  duty,  or  conceived  as  possible.  I  had 
often  before  laid  my  family  all  upon  the  altar  of  God,  and 
ieft  them  to  be  disposed  of  at  his  discretion.  But  at  this 
time  that  I  now  speak  of,  I  had  had  a  great  struggle  about 
giving  up  my  wife  to  the  will  of  God.  She  was  in  very 
feeble  health,  and  it  was  very  evident  that  she  could  not  live 
long  I  had  never  before  seen  so  clearly  what  was  implied 
in  laying  her,  and  all  that  I  possessed,  upon  the  altar  of  God 
and  for  hours  I  struggled  upon  my  knees,  to  give  he*  up 
unqualifiedly  to  the  will  of  God.  But  I  found  myself 
unable  to  do  it.  I  was  so  shocked  and  surprised  at  this5 
that  I  perspired  profusely  with  agony.  I  struggled  and 
prayed  until  I  was  exhausted,  and  found  myself  entirely 
unable  to  give  her  altogether  up  to  God's  will,  in  such  a 
way  as  to  make  no  objection  to  his  disposing  of  her  just  as 
he  pleased. 

This  troubled  me  much.  I  wrote  to  my  wife,  telling  her 
what  a  struggle  I  had  had,  and  the  concern  that  I  had  felt 
at  not  being  willing  to  commit  her,  without  reserve,  to  the 
perfect  will  of  God.  This  was  but  a  very  short  time  before 
I  had  this  temptation,  as  it  now  seems  to  me  to  have  been,  of 
which  I  have  spoken,  when  those  passages  of  Scripture  came 
up  distressingly  to  my  mind,  and  when  the  bitterness,  almost 
of  death  seemed,  for  a  few  moments,  to  possess  me,  at  the 
thought  that  my  religion  might  be  of  the  sensibility  only,  and 
that  God's  teaching  might  have  taken  effect  only  in  my  feeling. 
But  as  I  said,  I  was  enabled,  after  struggling  for  a  few  mo 
ments  with  this  discouragement  and  bitterness,  which  I  have 
since  attributed  to  a  fiery  dart  of  Satan,  to  fall  back,  in  a 
deeper  sense  than  I  had  ever  done  before  upon  the  infinitely 
blessed  and  perfect  will  of  God.  I  then  told  the  Lord  that 
I  had  such  confidence  in  him,  that  I  felt  perfectly  willing 


ilEMOIES   OF   CHARLES   Gt. 

fco  give  myself,  my  wife  and  my  family,  all  to  be  disposed  erf 
according  to  his  own  wisdom. 

I  then  had  a  deeper  view  of  what  was  implied  in  conse 
cration  to  God,  than  ever  before.  I  spent  a  long  time  upon 
my  knees,  in  ccnsidering  the  matter  all  over,  and  giving  up 
everything  to  the  will  of  God  ;  the  interests  of  the  church, 
the  progress  of  religion,  the  conversion  of  the  world,  and 
the  salvation  or  damnation  of  my  own  soul,  as  the  will  of  God 
oiight  decide.  Indeed  I  recollect,  that  I  went  so  far  as  to  say 
to  the  Lord,  with  all  my  heart,  that  he  might  do  anything 
with  me  or  mine,  to  which  his  blessed  will  could  consent , 
that  I  had  such  perfect  confidence  in  his  goodness  and  love, 
as  to  believe  that  he  could  consent  to  do  nothing,  to  which  I 
could  object.  I  felt  a  kind  of  holy  boldness,  in  telling  him 
to  do  with  me  just  as  seemed  to  him  good  ;  that  he  could 
aot  do  anything  that  was  not  perfectly  wise  and  good  ; 
*nd  therefore,  I  had  the  best  of  grounds  for  accepting  what 
ever  he  could  consent  to,  in  respect  to  me  and  mine.  So 
deep  and  perfect  a  resting  in  the  will  of  God,  1  had  never 
before  known. 

What  has  appeared  strange  to  me  is  this,  that  I  could 
not  get  hold  of  my  former  hope  ;  nor  could  I  recollect,  with 
any  freshness,  any  of  the  former  seasons  of  communion  and 
divine  assurance  that  I  had  experienced.  I  may  say  that  I 
gave  up  my  hope,  and  rested  every  thing  upon  a  new  foun 
dation.  I  mean,  I  gave  up  my  hope  from  any  past  experi 
ence,  and  recollect  telling  the  Lord,  that  I  did  not  know 
whether  he  intended  to  save  me  or  not  Nor  did  I  feel 
concerned  to  know.  I  was  willing  to  abide  the  event  I 
said  that  if  I  found  that  he  kept  me,  and  worked  in  me  by 
nus  Spirit,  and  was  preparing  me  for  heaven,  working  holi 
ness  and  eternal  life  in  my  soul,  1  should  take  it  for  granted 
that  he  intended  to  save  me  ;  that  if,  on  the  other  hand,  I 
found  myself  empty  of  divine  strength  and  light  and  love,  I 
ahould  conclude  that  he  saw  it  wise  and  expedient  to  send 


ANOTHER  WINTER   IX   BOSTON,  377 

me  to  hell ;  and  that  in  either  event  I  would  accept  ma  will 
My  mind  settled  into  a  perfect  stillness. 

This  was  early  in  the  morning ;  and  through  the  whole 
of  that  day  I  seemed  to  be  in  a  state  of  perfect  rest,  body 
and  soul.  The  question  frequently  arose  in  my  mind,  during 
the  day,  "Do  you  still  adhere  to  your  consecration,  and 
abide  in  the  will  of  God  ?  "  I  said  without  hesitation,"  Yes, 
I  take  nothing  back.  I  have  no  reason  for  taking  anything 
back ;  I  went  no  farther  in  pledges  and  professions  than 
was  reasonable.  I  have  no  reason  for  taking  anything 
back;  I  do  not  want  to  take  anything  back."  The 
thought  that  I  might  be  lost,  did  not  distress  me.  Indeed, 
think  as  I  might,  during  that  whole  day,  I  could  not  find 
in  my  mind  the  least  fear,  the  least  disturbing  emotion. 
Nothing  troubled  me.  I  was  neither  elated  nor  depressed  ; 
I  was  neither,  as  I  could  see,  joyful  or  sorrowful.  My  con 
fidence  in  God  was  perfect,  my  acceptance  of  his  will  was 
perfect,  and  my  mind  was  as  calm  as  heaven. 

Just  at  evening,,  the  question  arose  in  my  mind,  "  What 
if  God  should  send  me  to  hell,  what  then  ? '  "  Why,  I 
would  not  object  to  it."  "But  can  he  send  a  person  to 
hell,"  was  the  next  inquiry,  "  who  accepts  his  will,  in  the 
sense  in  which  you  do  ? "  This  inquiry  was  no  sooner 
raised  in  my  mind  than  settled.  I  said,  "No,  it  is  impos 
sible.  Hell  could  be  no  hell  to  me,  if  I  accepted  God's 
perfect  will."  This  sprung  a  vein  of  joy  in  my  mind,  that 
kept  developing  more  and  more,  for  weeks  «nd  months,  and 
indeed  I  may  say,  for  years.  For  years  iky  mind  was  too 
full  of  joy  to  feel  much  exercised  with  anxiety  on  anj 
subject.  My  prayer  that  had  been  so  fervent,  and  protracted 
during  so  long  a  period,  seemed  all  to  run  out  into,  "  Thy 
will  be  done."  It  seemed  as  if  my  desires  were  all  met. 
What  I  had  been  praying  for,  for  myself,  I  had  received  in  a 
way  that  I  least  expected.  Holiness  to  the  Lord  seemed  to 
be  inscribed  on  all  the  exercises  of  my  mind.  I  had  such 
strong  faith  that  God  would  accomplish  all  his  perfect  will, 


378  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G.    FINKEY. 

that  I  could  not  be  careful  about  anything.  The  great 
anxieties  about  which  my  mind  had  been  exercised,  during 
my  seasons  of  agonizing  prayer,  seemed  to  be  set  aside ;  so 
that  for  a  long  time,  when  I  went  to  God,  to  commune  with 
him — as  I  did  very,  very  frequently — I  would  fall  on  my 
knees,  and  find  it  impossible  to  ask  for  anything,  with  any 
earnestness,  except  that  his  will  might  be  done  in  earth  as  it 
s  done  in  heaven.  My  prayers  were  swallowed  up  in  that ; 
and  I  often  found  myself  smiling,  as  it  were,  in  the  face  of 
God,  and  saying  that  I  did  not  want  anything.  I  was  very 
sure  that  he  would  accomplish  all  his  wise  and  good  plea 
sure  ;  and  with  that  my  soul  was  entirely  satisfied. 

Here  I  lost  that  great  struggle  in  which  I  had  been  en 
gaged,  for  so  long  a  time,  and  began  to  preach  to  the  congre 
gation,  in  accordance  with  this  my  new  and  enlarged  experi 
ence.  There  was  a  considerable  number  in  the  church,  and 
that  attended  my  preaching,  who  understood  me  ;  and  they 
saw  from  my  preaching  what  had  been,  and  what  was,  pass 
ing  in  my  mind.  I  presume  the  people  were  more  sensible 
than  I  was  myself,  of  the  great  change  in  my  manner  of 
preaching.  Of  course,  my  mind  was  too  full  of  the  subject 
to  preach  anything  except  a  full  and  present  salvation  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

At  this  time  it  seemed  as  if  my  soul  was  wedded  to  Chngt, 
in  a  sense  in  which  I  had  never  had  any  thought  or  concep 
tion  of  before.  The  language  of  the  Song  of  Solomon,  was 
as  natural  to  me  as  my  breath.  I  thought  I  could  under 
stand  well  the  state  of  mind  he  was  in,  when  he  wrote  that 
song ;  and  concluded  then,  as  I  have  ever  thought  since, 
that  that  song  was  written  by  him,  after  he  had  been  re- 
x^laimed  from  his  great  backsliding.  I  not  only  had  all  the 
freshness  of  my  first  love,  but  a  vast  accession  to  it  Indeed 
the  Lord  lifted  me  so  much  above  anything  that  I  had  expe 
rienced  before,  and  taught  me  so  much  of  the  meaning  of 
the  Bible,  of  Christ's  relations,  and  power,  and  willingness, 
I  often  found  myself  saying  to  him,  "  I  had  not  knpirr 


ANOTHER   WINTER   ^N    BOSTON.  37& 

or  conceived  that  any  such  thing  was  true."  I  then  realized 
what  is  meant  by  the  saying,  tnat  he  "is  able  to  do  exceed 
ing  abundantly  above  all  that  we  ask  or  think."  He  did  at 
that  time  teach  me,  indefinitely  above  all  that  I  had  ever 
asked  or  thought.  I  had  had  no  conception  of  the  length 
and  breadth,  and  height  and  depth,  and  efficiency  of  his 
grace. 

It  seemed  then  to  me  that  that  passage,  "My  grace  is 
sufficient  for  thee,"  meant  so  much,  that  it  was  wonderful  I 
had  never  understood  it  before.  I  found  myself  exclaiming, 
"  Wonderful !  Wonderful !  Wonderful  ! "  as  these  revela 
tions  were  made  to  me.  I  could  understand  then  what  was 
meant  by  the  prophet  when  he  said,  "  His  name  shall  be 
called  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  the  mighty  God,  the  everlast 
ing  Father,  the  Prince  of  peace."  I  spent  nearly  all  the 
remaining  part  of  the  winter,  till  I  was  obliged  to  return 
home,  in  instructing  the  people  in  regard  to  the  fulness  there 
is  in  Christ  But  I  found  that  I  preached  over  the  heads  of 
the  majority  of  the  people.  They  did  .not  understand  ine. 
There  was,  indeed,  a  goodly  number  that  did  ;  and  they 
were  wonderfully  biased  in  their  souls,  and  made  more  pro 
gress  in  the  divine  life,  as  I  have  reason  to  believe,  than  in 
all  their  lives  before. 

But  the  little  church  that  was  formed  there  was  not  com 
posed  of  materials  that  could,  to  any  considerable  extent, 
work  healthfully  and  efficiently  together.  The  outside  oppo 
sition  to  them  was  great.  The  mass  even  of  professors  of 
religion  in  the  city,  did  not  sympathize  with  them  at  all. 
The  people  of  the  churches  generally  were  in  no  state  to 
receive  my  views  of  sanctifi  cation  ;  and  although  there  were 
individuals  in  nearly  all  the  churches  who  were  deeply  inter 
ested  and  greatly  blessed,  yet  as  a  general  thing,  the  testi 
mony  that  I  bore  was  unintelligible  to  them. 

Some  of  them  could  see  where  I  was.  One  evening  1 
recollect  that  Deacon  P and  Deacon  S ,  after  hear 
ing  my  preaching,  and  seeing  the  effect  upon  the  congre^a 


380  MEMOIRS   OF   OHARLB8   tf.    FINKED . 

tion,  came  up  to  me,  after  I  came  out  of  the  pulpit,  and  ssud, 
'*  Why,  you  are  a  great  way  ahead  of  us  in  this  city,  and 
A  great  way  ahead  of  our  ministers.  How  can  we  get  our 
ministers  to  come  and  hear  these  truths?"  I  replied,  "I 
do  not  know.  But  I  wish  they  could  see  things  as  I  do  ;  foi 
it  does  seem  to  me  infinitely  important  that  there  should  b« 
a  higher  standard  of  holiness  in  Boston."  They  seemed  ex 
ceedingly  anxious  to  have  those  truths  laid  before  the  peo 
ple  in  general.  They  were  good  men,  as  the  Boston  people 
well  know  ;  but  what  pains  they  really  took,  to  get  their 
ministers  and  people  to  attend,  I  cannot  say. 

I  labored  that  winter  mostly  for  a  revival  of  religion 
among  Christians.  The  Lord  prepared  me  ID  do  so,  by  the 
great  work  he  wrought  in  my  own  soul.  Although  I  had 
had  much  of  the  divine  life  working  within  me  ;  yet,  as  I 
said,  so  far  did  what  I  experienced  that  winter,  exceed  all 
that  I  had  before  experienced,  that  at  times  I  could  not 
realize  that  I  had  ever  before  been  truly  &  communion 
*ith  God. 

To  be  sure  I  had  been,  often  and  for  a  long  time  ;  and 
this  I  knew  when  I  reflected  upon  it,  and  remembered 
through  what  I  had  so  often  passed.  It  appeared  to  me, 
that  winter,  that  probably  when  we  get  to  heaven,  our  views 
and  joys,  and  holy  exercises,  will  so  far  surpass  anything 
that  we  have  ever  experienced  in  this  life,  that  we  shall  be 
hardly  able  to  recognize  the  fact  that  we  had  any  religion, 
while  in  this  world.  I  had  in  fact  oftentimes  experienced 
inexpressible  joys,  and  very  deep  communion  with  God 
but  all  this  had  fallen  so  into  the  shade,  under  my  enlarged 
experience,  that  frequently  I  would  tell  the  Lord  that  I  had 
never  before  had  any  conception  of  the  wonderful  things 
revealed  in  his  blessed  Gospel,  and  the  wonderful  grace  there 
is  in  Christ  Jesus.  This  language,  I  knew  when  I  reflected 
upon  it,  was  comparative  ;  but  still  all  my  former  experien 
ces,  for  the  time,  seemed  to  be  sealed  up,  and  almost  logi 


ANOTHER   WINTER   IK   BOSTON.  381 

As  the  great  excitement  of  that  season  subsided,  and  mj 
mind  became  more  calm,  I  saw  more  clearly  the  different 
steps  of  my  Christian  experience,  and  came  to  recognize  the 
connection  of  things,  as  all  wrought  by  God  from  beginning 
to  end.  But  since  then  I  have  never  had  those  great  strug 
gles,  and  long  protracted  seasons  of  agonizing  prayer,  that  1 
had  often  experienced.  It  is  quite  another  thing  to  prevail 
with  God,  in  my  own  experience,  from  what  it  was  before. 
I  can  come  to  God  with  more  calmness,  because  with  more 
perfect  confidence.  He  enables  me  now  to  rest  m  him,  and 
let  everything  sink  into  his  perfect  will,  with  mwsli  more 
readiness,  than  ever  before  the  experience  of  tLat  winter. 

I  have  felt  since  then  a  religious  freedom,  a  religious 
buoyancy  and  delight  in  God,  and  in  his  word,  a  steadiness 
of  faith,  a  Christian  liberty  and  overflowing  love,  that  I  had 
only  experienced,  I  may  say,  occasionally  before.  I  do  not 
mean  that  such  exercises  had  been  rare  to  me  before  ;  for 
they  had  been  frequent  and  often  repeated,  but  never  abid 
ing  as  they  ha?  3  been  since.  My  bondage  seemed  to  be,  at 
that  time,  entirely  broken  ;  and  since  then,  I  have  had  the 
freedom  of  a  child  with  a  loving  parent  It  seems  to  me 
that  I  can  find  God  within  me,  in  such  a  sense,  that  I  can 
rest  upon  him  and  be  quiet,  lay  my  heart  in  his  hand,  and 
nestle  down  in  his  perfect  will,  and  have  no  carefulness  or 
anxietyc 

I  speak  of  these  exercises  as  habitual,  since  that  period, 
but  I  cannot  affirm  that  they  have  been  altogether  unbroken  ; 
for  in  1860,  during  a  period  of  sickness,  I  had  a  season  of 
great  depression,  and  wonderful  humiliation.  But  the  Lord 
brought  me  out  of  it,  into  an  established  peace  and  rest. 

A  few  years  after  this  season  of  refreshing,  that  beloved 
wife,  of  whom  I  have  spoken,  died.  This  was  to  me  a  great 
affliction.  Howev^  I  did  not  feel  any  murmuring,  or  the 
least  resistance  to  the  will  of  God.  I  gave  her  up  to  God, 
without  any  resistance  whatever,  that  I  can  recollect  Bui 
Jt  was  to  me  a  great  sorrow.  The  night  after  she  died,  I  wae 


39&  MEM.01KS   OF    OHAULES    l>.    BIN'S  Elf. 

lying  in  my  room  alone,  and  some  Christian  friends  were 
sitting  up  in  the  parlor,  and  watching  out  the  night.  I  had 
been  asleep  for  a  little  while,  and  as  I  awoke,  the  thought 
of  my  bereavement  flashed  over  my  mind  with  such  power  ! 
My  wife  was  gone  !  I  should  never  hear  her  speak  again, 
nor  see  her  face !  Her  children  were  motherless !  What 
should  I  do  ?  My  brn  -  seemed  to  reel,  as  if  my  mind 
would  swing  from  its  pjvot.  1  rose  instantly  from  my 
bed,  exclaiming,  "  I  shall  be  deranged  if  I  cannot  rest  in 
God  ! "  The  Lord  soon  calmed  my  mind,  for  that  night ; 
but  still,  at  times,  seasons  of  sorrow  would  come  over  me, 
that  were  almost  overwhelming. 

One  day  I  was  upon  my  knees,  communing  with  God 
upon  the  subject,  and  all  at  once  he  seemed  to  say  to  me, 
'«  You  loved  your  wife  ?  "  "  Yes,"  I  said.  "  Well,  did  you 
love  her  for  her  own  sake,  or  for  your  sake  ?  Did  you  love 
her,  or  yourself  ?  If  you  loved  her  for  her  own  sake,  why 
do  you  sorrow  that  she  is  with  me  ?  Should  not  her  happi 
ness  with  me  make  you  rejoice  instead  of  mourn,  if  you 
loved  her  for  her  own  sake  ?  Did  you  love  her,"  he  seemed 
to  say  to  me,  "  for  my  sake  ?  If  you  loved  her  for  my  sake, 
surely  you  would  r,ot  grie^o  that  she  is  with  me.  Why  do 
you  think  of  your  loss,  oi  •=.•  lav  so  much  stress  upon  that, 
instead  of  thinking  of  her  £a,m  ?  Can  you  be  sorrowful, 
when  she  is  so  joyful  and  nappy  ?  If  you  loved  her  for  her 
own  sake,  would  you  not  rejoice  in  her  j  y,  and  be  happy  in 
her  happiness  ?  " 

I  can  never  describe  the  feelings  that  came  over  me,  when 
I  seemed  to  be  thus  addressed.  It  produced  an  instan 
taneous  change  in  the  whole  state  of  my  mind.  From  that 
moment,  sorrow,  on  account  of  my  loss,  was  gone  forever.  I 
ao  longer  thought  of  my  wife  as  dead,  but  as  alive,  and  in 
the  midst  of  the  glories  of  heaven.  My  faith  was,  at  this 
time,  so  strong  and  my  mind  so  enlightened,  that  it  seemed 
as  if  I  could  enter  into  the  very  state  of  mind  in  which  she 
was,  in  heaven  ;  and  if  th^p  is  any  such  thing  as  nommun- 


VNOTHEfi   WINTER   IN    BOSTON.  583 

tng  with  an  absent  spirit,  or  with  one  who  is  in  heaven,  I 
seemed  to  commune  with  her.  Not  that  I  ever  supposed 
she  was  present  in  such  *,  sense  that  I  communed  personally 
with  her.  But  it  seemed  as  if  I  knew  what  her  state  of 
mind  was  there,  what  profound,  unbroken  rest,  in  the  per 
fect  will  of  God.  I  could  see  that  that  was  heaven ;  and  1 
experienced  it  in  my  own  soul.  I  have  never  to  this  day, 
lost  the  blessing  of  these  views.  They  frequently  recur  to 
me,  as  the  very  state  of  mind  in  which  the  inhabitants  of 
heaven  are,  and  I  can  see  why  they  are  in  such  a  state  of 
blessedness. 

My  wife  had  died  in  a  heavenly  frame  of  mind.  Her 
rest  in  God  was  so  perfect,  that  it  seemed  to  me  that,  in 
leaving  this  world,  she  only  entered  into  a  fuller  apprehen 
sion  of  the  love  and  faithfulness  of  God,  so  as  to  confirm  and 
perfect  forever,  her  trust  in  God,  and  her  union  with  his  will. 
These  are  experiences  in  which  I  have  lived,  a  great  deal, 
since  that  time.  But  in  preaching,  I  have  found  that 
nowhere  can  I  preach  those  truths,  on  which  my  own  soul 
delights  to  live,  and  be  understood,  except  it  be  by  a  very 
small  number.  I  have  never  found  that  more  than  a  very 
few,  even  of  my  own  people,  appreciate  and  receive  those 
views  of  God  and  Christ,  and  the  fulness  of  his  free  salva 
tion,  upon  which  my  own  soul  still  delights  to  feed.  Every 
where,  I  am  obliged  to  come  down  to  where  the  people  are, 
in  order  to  make  them  understand  me  ;  and  in  every  place 
where  I  have  preached,  for  many  years,  I  have  found  the 
churches  in  so  low  a  state,  as  to  be  utterly  incapable  of 
apprehending  and  appreciating,  what  I  regard  as  the  most 
precious  truths  of  the  whole  Gospel. 

When  preaching  to  impenitent  sinners,  I  am  obliged,  cf 
course,  to  go  back  to  first  principles.  In  my  own  experience, 
I  have  so  long  passed  these  outposts  and  first  principles, 
that  I  cannot  live  upon  those  truths.  I,  however,  have  tc 
preach  them  to  the  impenitent,  to  secure  their  conversion. 
When  I  preach  the  Gospel,  I  can  preach  the  atonement,  con- 


384  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G.    FIKlfSY. 

version,  and  many  of  the  prominent  views  of  the  Gospel,  that 
are  appreciated  and  accepted  by  those  who  are  young  in  the 
religions  life ;  and  by  those  also,  who  have  been  long  in  the 
chnrch  of  God,  and  have  made  very  little  advancement  in 
the  knowledge  of  Christ.  But  it  is  only  now  and  then,  that 
I  find  it  really  profitable  to  the  people  of  God,  to  pour  out  to 
them  the  fullness  that  my  own  soul  sees  in  Christ.  In  this 
place,  there  is  a  larger  number  of  persons,  by  far,  that  under 
stand  me,  and  devour  that  class  of  truths,  than  I  have  found 
elsewhere;  but  evei^iere,  the  majority  of  professors  of  religion 
do  not  understandingly  embrace  those  truths.  They  do  not 
object,  they  do  not  oppose ;  and  so  far  as  they  understand, 
they  are  convinced.  But  as  a  matter  of  experience,  they  are 
ignorant  of  the  power  of  the  highest  and  most  precious 
truths  of  the  Gospel  of  salvation,  in  Christ  Tesus. 

I  said  that  this  winter  in  Boston,  was  spent  mostly  in 
r:  reaching  to  professed  Christians,  and  that  many  of  them 
were  greatly  blessed  in  their  souls.  I  felt  very  confident  that, 
unless  the  foundations  could  be  relaid  in  some  sense,  and 
that  unless  the  Christians  in  Boston  took  on  a  higher  type 
of  Christian  living,  they  never  could  prevail  against  Uni- 
tarianism.  I  knew  that  the  orthodox  ministers  had  been 
preaching  orthodoxy,  as  opposed  to  Unitarianism,  for  many 
years  ;  and  that  all  that  could  be  accomplished  by  discussion, 
had  been  accomplished.  But  I  felt  that  what  Unitarians 
needed,  was  to  see  Christians  live  out  the  pure  Gospel  of 
Christ.  They  needed  to  hear  them  say,  and  prove  what 
they  said  by  their  lives,  that  Jesus  Christ  was  a  divine 
Saviour,  and  able  to  save  them  from  all  sin.  Their  profes 
sions  of  faith  in  Christ  did  not  accord  with  their  experiences. 
They  could  not  say  that  they  found  Christ  in  their  experi 
ence,  what  they  preached  him  to  be.  There  is  needed,  the 
testimony  of  God's  living  witnesses,  the  testimony  of  experi 
ence,  to  convince  the  Unitarians  ;  and  mere  reasonings  and 
arguments,  however  conclusive,  will  never  overcome  theij 
errors  and  their  prejudices. 


AtfOTHEE    WINTER   IX   BOSTON.  386 

The  orthodox  churches  there,  are  too  formal  ;  they  are 
in  bondage  to  certain  ways  ;  they  are  afraid  of  measures, 
afraid  to  launch  forth  in  all  freedom,  in  the  use  of  means  to 
save  souls.  They  have  always  seemed  to  me  to  be  in  bond 
age  in  their  prayers,  insomuch  that  what  I  call  the  spirit  of 
prayer,  I  have  seldom  witnessed  in  Boston.  The  ministers 
and  deacons  of  the  churches,  though  good  men,  are  afraid 
of  what  the  Unitarians  will  say,  if,  in  their  measures  to  pro 
mote  religion,  they  launch  out  in  such  a  way  as  to  wake  the 
people  up.  Everything  must  be  done  in  a  certain  way.  The 
Holy  Spirit  is  grieved  by  their  yielding  to  such  a  bondage. 

I  have  labored  in  Boston  in  five  powerful  revivals  of  re 
ligion  ;  and  I  must  express  it  as  my  sincere  conviction,  that 
the  greatest  difficulty  in  the  way  of  overcoming  Unitarian- 
ism,  and  all  the  forms  of  error  there,  is  the  timidity  of 
Christians  and  churches.  Knowing,  as  they  do,  that  they 
are  constantly  exposed  to  the  criticisms  of  the  Unitarians, 
they  have  become  over-cautious.  Their  feith  has  been  de 
pressed.  And  I  do  fear  that  the  prevalence  of  Unitarianism 
and  Universalism  there,  has  kept  them  back  from  preaching, 
and  holding  forth  the  danger  of  the  impenitent,  as  president 
Edwards  presented  it  The  doctrine  of  endless  punishment, 
the  necessity  of  entire  sanctification,  or  the  giving  up  of  all 
sin,  as  a  condition  of  salvation — indeed  the  doctrines  that  are 
calculated  to  arouse  men,  are  not,  I  fear,  held  forth  with 
that  frequency  and  power,  that  are  indispensable  to  the  sal 
vation  of  that  city. 

The  little  church  at  the  Marlborough  chapel,  were  very 
desirous  that  I  should  become  their  pastor ;  and  I  left 
Boston,  and  came  home,  with  this  question  before  my  mind. 
Aiterward  brother  Sears  came  on,  with  a  formal  call  in  his 
pocket,  to  persuade  me  to  go  and  take  up  my  abode  there. 
But  when  he  arrived  in  Oberlin,  and  consulted  the  brethren 
here,  about  the  propriety  of  my  going,  they  so  much  di«h 
couraged  him,  that  he  did  not  lay  the  question  before  m€ 
at  all. 


UHAPTEB  XXVIH. 

FIBST    VISIT  TO  EKGLAKD. 

HAVING  had  repeated  and  urgent  invitations  to  \nsit 
England,  and  labor  for  the  promotion  of  revivals  ir 
that  country,  I  embarked  with  my  wife,*  in  the  autumn  oi 
1849,  and  after  a  stormy  passage,  we  arrived  at  Southampton, 
early  in  November.  There  we  met  the  pastor  of  the  church 
in  Hough  ton,  a  village  situated  midway  between  the  market 
towns  of  Huntington  and  Saint  Ives.  A  Mr.  Potto  Brown,  a 
very  benevolent  man,  of  whom  I  shall  have  occasion  to  speak 
frequently,  had  sent  Mr.  James  Harcourt,  his  pastor,  to 
meet  us  at  Southampton. 

Mr.  Potto  Brown  was,  by  parentage  and  education,  a 
Quaker.  He  and  a  partner  were  engaged  in  the  milling 
business,  and  belonged  to  a  congregation  of  Independents, 
in  Saint  Ives.  They  became  greatly  affected  in  view  of  the 
state  of  things  in  their  neighborhood.  The  Church,  as  it  is 
sailed  in  England,  seemed  to  them  to  be  effecting  very  little 
for  the  salvation  of  souls.  There  were  no  schools,  outside 
Df  the  church  schools,  for  the  education  of  the  poor  ;  and 
the  mass  of  the  people  were  greatly  neglected.  After  much 
prayer  and  consultation  with  each  other,  they  agreed  to 
adopt  measures  for  the  education  of  the  children,  in  the  vil 
lage  where  they  lived,  and  in  the  villages  around  them,  and 
to  extend  this  influence  as  far  as  they  could.  They  also 
agreed  to  apply  their  means,  to  the  best  advantage,  in  estab 
lishing  worship,  and  in  building  up  churches  independent  of 
the  Establishment. 

*  Mr.  Finney  had  married,  aa  hie  second  wife,  Mrs. 
Atkinson,  of  Rochester 


F1BST  YISIT  TO   BNGULSTD.  387 

Not  long  after  this  enterprise  was  commenced,  Mr. 
Brown's  partner  died.  His  wife,  I  believe,  had  died  before 
him ;  and  his  partner  committed  his  family,  consisting  of 
several  sons  and  daughters,  to  the  fraternal  care  of  Mr. 
Brown,  who  committed  them  to  the  training  of  a  judicious 
widow  lady,  in  a  neighborirg  village.  Mr.  Brown's  partner, 
at  his  death,  begged  him  not  to  neglect  the  work  which  they 
had  projected  ;  but  to  pursue  it  with  vigor  and  singleness 
of  eye.  Mr.  Brown's  heart  was  in  the  work.  His  partner 
left  a  large  property  to  his  children.  Mr.  Brown  himself 
had  but  two  children,  sons.  He  was  a  man  of  simple  habita, 
and  expended  but  little  money  upon  himself,  or  his  family. 
He  employed  a  school  teacher,  in  the  village  where  he  resided, 
and  built  a  chapel  there  for  public  worship.  They  called  a 
man  to  labor  there  as  a  minister,  who  held  hyper-calvinistic 
views  ;  and  consequently  he  labored  year  after  year,  with  no 
results,  such  as  met  the  expectations  of  Mr.  Brown. 

Mr.  Brown  had  frequent  conversations  with  his  minister, 
about  the  want  of  good  results.  He  was  paying  his  salary, 
and  laying  out  his  money  in  various  ways,  to  promote  reli 
gion,  by  means  of  Sabbath  schools,  and  teachers,  and  laborers; 
but  few  or  none  were  converted.  He  laid  this  matter  before 
his  minister  so  frequently,  that  he  finally  replied,  "Mr. 
Brown,  am  I  God,  that  I  can  convert  souls  ?  I  preach  to 
them  the  Gospel,  and  God  does  iiot  convert  them ;  am  I  to 
blame  ?"  Mr.  Brown  replied,  "Whether  you  are  God  or  no 
God,  we  must  have  conversions.  The  people  must  be  con 
verted."  So  this  minister  was  dismissed.  Rev.  Jamei 
Harcourt  was  employed.  Mr.  Harcourt  is  an  open -com 
munion  Baptist,  a  talented  man.  a  rousing  preacher,  and  an 
earnest  laborer  for  souls.  Under  his  preaching,  conversions 
began  to  appear,  and  the  WOIK  went  on  hopefully.  Their 
little  church  increased  in  numbers  and  in  faith ,  and  the 
leaven  was  extending  gradually,  but  perceptibly,  on  every 
tdde. 

They  soon  extended  their  operations  to  neighboring  TO- 


388  MEMOIRS    OF    CHARLES    ft. 

lages,  with  good  results.  But  still  they  did  not  know  hon 
to  promote  revivals  of  religion.  The  children  of  his  partner, 
who  had  been  left  under  his  charge,  had  grown  up  to  be 
young  men  and  women,  and  were  not  converted.  There 
were  three  daughters  and  three  sons,  a  fine  family,  with 
bundance  of  property  ;  but  they  were  unconverted,  Mr 
Brown  had  a  large  number  of  very  interesting  and  influen 
tial  friends,  in  that  county,  for  whose  salvation  he  felt  a  very 
deep  interest.  He  was  also  very  anxious  about  the  children 
of  his  deceased  partner,  that  they  might  be  converted.  For 
the  education  of  his  sons  he  had  employed  a  teacher  in  his 
family  ;  and  a  considerable  number  of  young  men,  of  respect 
able  families,  from  neighboring  towns,  had  studied  with  his 
sons.  This  little  family  school,  to  which  the  young  men 
who  were  sons  of  his  friends,  in  various  parts  of  the  county, 
had  been  invited,  had  created  a  strong  bond  of  interest 
between  Mr.  Brown  and  these  families.  Mr.  Harcourt's 
labors,  for  some  reason,  did  not  reach  these  families.  He 
was  successful  among  the  poorer  and  lower  classes,  was 
zealous  and  devoted,  and  preached  the  Gospel.  As  Mr. 
Brown  said,  "He  was  a  powerful  minister  of  Jesus  Christ." 
But  still  he  wanted  experience,  to  reach  the  class  of  persons 
that  Mr.  Brown  had  more  particularly  on  his  own  heart 
These  brethren  frequently  talked  the  matter  over,  and 
inquired  how  they  could  reach  that  class  of  persons,  and 
draw  them  to  Christ  Mr.  Harcourt  said  that  he  had  donf 
all  that  he  could,  and  that  something  else  must  be  done, 
or  he  did  not  see  that  this  class  of  persons  would  be  reached 
atalL 

He  had  read  my  revival  lectures,  and  he  finally  suggested 
-0  Mr.  Brown  the  propriety  of  writing  to  me,  to  see  if  1 
would  not  come  and  labor  with  them.  This  led  to  my  re 
ceiving  a  very  earnest  request  from  Mr.  Brown,  to  visit  them. 
He  conversed  also  with  many  other  people,  and  with  some 
ministers  ;  which  led  to  my  receiving  divers  letters  of  press 
ing  invitations  to  visit  EnarlancL 


FIRST   VISIT  TO   ENG.-AND.  869 

At  first,  these  letters  made  but  little  impression  upon  me, 
for  I  did  not  sec  how  I  could  go  to  England.  At  length  the 
way  seemed  to  open  for  me  to  leave  home,  at  least  for  a  sea 
son  ;  and  as  I  have  said,  in  the  autumn  of  1849,  my  wife 
and  myself  went  to  England.  When  we  arrived  there,  and 
had  rested  a  few  days,  I  began  my  labors  in  the  village 
chapel.  I  SOOD  ^ound  that  Mr.  Brown  was  altogether  a  re 
markable  man.  Although  brought  up  a  Quaker,  he  was  en 
tirely  catholic  in  his  views,  and  was  laboring,  in  an  independ 
ent  way,  directly  for  the  salvation  of  the  people  around  him. 
He  had  wealth,  and  his  property  was  constantly  and  rapidly 
increasing.  His  history  has  reminded  me  many  times  of  the 
proverb  :  "  There  is  that  scattereth  and  yet  increaseth  ;  there 
is  that  withholdeth  more  than  is  meet,  and  it  tendeth  to  pov 
erty."  For  religious  purpose  -  would  spend  his  monei 
like  a  prince ;  and  the  more  ne  mpc.ut,  the  more  he  had  t<* 
spend. 

While  we  were  there,  he  threw  his  house  open  morning, 
noon,  and  evening,  and  invited  his  friends,  far  and  near,  to 
come  and  pay  him  a  visit.  They  came  in  great  numbers,  so 
that  his  table  was  surrounded,  at  nearly  every  meal,  with 
divers  persons  who  had  been  invited  in,  that  I  might  have 
conversation  with  them,  and  that  they  might  attend  our 
meetings. 

A  revival  immediately  commenced,  and  spread  among 
the  people.  The  children  of  his  partner  were  soon  interested 
in  religion,  and  converted  to  Christ.  The  work  spread 
among  those  that  came  from  the  neighboring  villages.  They 
heard  and  gladly  received  the  word.  And  so  extensive  and 
thorough  was  the  work  among  Mr.  Brown's  particulai 
friends,  whose  conversion  he  had  been  longing  and  praying 
for,  that  before  I  left,  he  said  that  every  one  of  them  was 
converted,  that  the  Lord  had  not  left  one  of  them  out,  for 
whom  he  had  felt  anxiety,  and  for  whose  conversion  he  had 
been  praying. 

The  conversion  of  this  large  number  of  persons,  -scattered 


390  MEMOIRS   OF   CHAALBS   <*. 

over  the  country,  made  a  very  favorable  impression  where 
they  were  known.  The  house  of  worship  at  Houghton  was 
small,  but  it  was  packed  at  every  meeting  ;  and  the  devoted- 
ness  and  engagedness  of  Mr.  Brown  and  his  wife,  were  most 
interesting  and  affecting.  There  seemed  to  be  no  bounds  to 
their  hospitality.  Their  schoolmaster  was  a  religious  man,  and 
arould  run  in  every  day,  and  almost  every  meal,  and  sit  down 
with  us,  to  enjoy  the  conversation.  Gentlemen  would  come 
in,  from  neighboring  towns,  from  a  distance  of  many  miles; 
early  enough  to  be  there  at  breakfast.  The  young  men  who 
had  been  educated  with  his  sons,  were  invited,  and  came  ; 
and  I  believe  every  one  of  them  was  converted.  Thus  his 
largest  desires  in  regard  to  them,  were  fulfilled ;  and  very 
much  more  among  the  masses  was  done,  than  he  had  ex 
pected.  Mr.  Harcourt,  had  at  that  time  several  preaching 
places,  beside  Houghton,  in  the  neighboring  villages.  The 
savor  of  this  work  at  Houghton,  continued  for  years.  Mr. 
Harcourt  informed  me,  that  he  preached  in  a  praying  atmo 
sphere,  and  with  a  melting  state  of  feeling  around  him,  as 
long  as  he  remained  in  Houghton. 

I  did  not  remain  long  in  Houghton  at  this  time  ;  several 
weeks,  however.  Among  the  brethren  who  had  written, 
urging  me  to  come  to  England,  was  a  Mr.  Roe,  a  Baptist 
minister  of  Birmingham.  As  soon  as  he  was  informed  that 
I  was  in  England,  he  came  to  Houghton,  and  spent  several 
days,  attending  the  meetings  and  witnessing  the  results. 

About  the  middle  of  December  we  left  Houghton,  an*' 
went  to  Birmingham,  to  labor  in  the  congregation  of  Mr. 
Roe.  Here,  soon  after  our  arrival,  we  were  introduced  to 
Rev.  John  Angell  James,  who  was  the  principal  dissenting 
minister  in  Birmingham.  He  was  a  good,  and  a  great  man, 
and  wielded  a  srery  extensive  influence  in  that  city,  and 
indeed  throughout  England. 

When  my  revival  lectures  were  first  published  iu 
England,  Mr.  James  wrote  an  introduction  to  them,  higblj 
Commending  them.  But  when  I  arrived  in  Birmingham.  J 


FIRST  VISIT  TO   ENGLAND.  39} 

was  informed  that,  after  Mr.   James  had  publicly  recom 
mended  them,  in  meetings  of  ministers,  and  by  his  pen,  he 
had  been  informed,  by  men  belonging  to  certain  circles  OB 
this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  that  those  revivals  that  had  oc 
curred,  under  my  ministry  especially,  had  turned  out  ven 
disastrously  ;  and  that  to  such  an  extent  had  these  repress 
tations  been  made  to  him,  that  he  had  taken  back  what  he 
had  said  publicly,  in  favor  of  those  revival  lectures. 

However,  when  he  saw  me  in  Birmingham,  he  called  the 
Independent  ministers  to  a  breakfast  at  his  house,  and 
requested  me  to  attend.  This  is  the  common  way  of  doing 
things  in  England.  When  we  assembled  at  his  house,  after 
breakfast  was  concluded,  he  said  to  his  ministerial  brethren, 
that  he  had  been  impressed  that  they  were  falling  greatly 
short  of  accomplishing  the  end  of  their  ministry  ;  that 
they  were  too  w^ll  satisfied  to  have  the  people  attend  meet 
ing,  pay  the  minister's  salary,  keep  up  the  Sabbath  school, 
and  move  on  with  an  outward  prosperity  ;  while  the  conver 
sions,  in  most  of  the  churches,  were  very  few,  and  after  all, 
the  people  were  going  to  destruction.  I  was  told  by  Mr. 
Roe,  with  whom  I  was  at  that  time  commencing  my  labors, 
that  there  were,  in  Mr.  James'  own  congregation,  not  less 
than  fifteen  hundred  impenitent  sinners.  At  the  breakfast 
at  Mr.  James',  he  expressed  himself  very  warmly,  and  said 
that  something  must  be  done. 

Finally  the  ministers  agreed  upon  holding  meetings,  as 
soon  as  I  could  comply  with  their  request,  in  the  different 
Independent  churches,  in  succession.  But  for  some  weeks,  I 
confined  my  labors  to  Mr.  Roe's  congregation,  and  there  wag 
a  powerful  revival,  such  a  movement  as  they  had  never  seen. 
The  revival  swept  through  the  congregation  with  great 
power,  and  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  impenitent  were 
turned  to  Christ.  Mr.  Roe  entered  heart  and  soul  into  the 
work.  I  found  him  a  good  and  true  man.  He  was  not  at 
all  sectarian,  or  prejudiced  in  his  views  ;  but  he  opened  his 
heart  to  divine  influence,  and  poured  out  himself  in  labors 


MEMOIRS  OF  CHAELE8   G.    F1HHBY. 

for  souls,  like  a  man  in  earnest.  Day  after  day  he  would  sit 
in  the  vestry  of  his  church,  and  converse  with  inquirers,  as 
they  came  to  visit  him,  and  direct  them  to  Christ.  His 
time  was  almost  entirely  taken  up  with  this  work,  for  many 
days.  His  church  was,  at  that  time,  one  of  the  few  close- 
communion  churches  in  England,  as  nearly  all  the  Baptist* 
in  England  are  open-communionists. 

After  the  number  of  conversions  had  become  large,  the 
church  began  to  examine  converts  for  admission.  They 
examined  a  large  number,  and  were  about  to  hold  a  com 
munion.  I  preached  in  the  morning,  and  they  were  to  hold 
their  communion  in  the  afternoon.  When  the  morning  ser 
vice  was  closed,  Mr.  Roe  requested  the  church  to  remain  for 
a  few  moments.  My  wife  and  myself  retired  after  the 
morning  service,  and  went  to  our  lodging?  at  Mr.  Roe's, 
where  we  were  guests.  After  a  little  time,  Mr.  Roe  came 
home,  and  entered  our  room  with  a  smile  upon  his  face,  say 
ing,  '*  What  do  you  think  our  church  have  done  ?"  I  could 
not  tell ;  for  really  it  had  not  occurred  to  me  to  raise  the  in 
quiry,  what  they  were  going  to  do,  when  they  were  requested 
to  stay.  He  replied,  "They  have  voted  unanimously  to 
invite  you  and  Mrs.  Finney  to  our  communion,  this  after 
noon."  Their  close  communion  was  more  than  they  could 
sustain,  on  such  an  occasion  as  that.  However,  on  reflection, 
we  concluded  that  we  had  better  not  accept  their  invitation, 
lest  they  had  taken  the  vote  under  a  pressure,  that  might 
create  some  reaction  and  regret  among  them  afterwards  ; 
and  as  we  were  really  fatigued,  we  excused  ourselves,  and 
remained  at  home. 

As  I  had  to  preach  again  in  the  evening,  I  was  glad  to 
have  the  rest.  I  soon  accepted  the  invitations  of  the  mini* 
ters,  to  labor  in  their  several  pulpits.  The  congregations 
were  everywhere  crowded ;  a  great  interest  was  excited  ;  and 
the  numbers  that  would  gather  into  the  vestries  after  preach 
ing,  under  an  invitation  for  inquirers,  was  large.  Theii 
largest  vestries  would  be  packed  with  inquirers,  whenever  a 


FIK8T   VISIT  TO    EKGLAKIi  t59 

call  was  made  to  resort  thither  for  instruction.  As  to  means* 
I  used  the  same  there  that  I  had  done  in  this  country. 
Preaching,  prayer,  conversation,  and  meetings  of  inquiry, 
were  the  means  used. 

But  I  soon  found  that  Mr.  James  was  receiving  letters 
from  various  quarters,  warning  him  against  the  influence  of 
my  labors.  He  had  acquaintances  on  this  r.?*e  of  the  Atlan 
tic  ;  and  some  of  them,  as  I  understood  him,  had  written 
him  letters,  warning  him  against  my  influence.  Besides, 
from  various  parts  of  his  own  county,  the  same  pressure  waa 
made  upon  him.  He  was  very  frank  with  me,  and  told  me 
how  the  matter  stood  ;  and  I  was  as  frank  with  him.  I  said 
fco  him,  "Brother  James,  your  responsibility  is  great.  1 
am  aware  that  your  influence  is  great :  and  these  letters 
show  both  your  influence  and  your  responsibility,  in  regard 
to  these  labors.  You  are  led  to  think  that  I  am  heretical  in 
my  views.  You  hear  my  preaching,  whenever  I  preach  ;  and 
you  know  whether  I  preach  the  Gospel  or  not." 

I  had  taken  with  me  my  two  published  volumes  of  Sys 
tematic  Theology.  I  said  to  him,  "Have  you  heard  me 
preach  anything  that  is  not  Gospel  ? "  He  said,  f£  No,  not 
anything  at  all."  "  Well,"  said  I,  "Now  I  have  my  Syste- 
mati  c  Theology,  which  I  teach  to  my  classes  at  home,  and 
which  I  everywhere  preach ;  and  I  want  you  to  read  it." 
He  was  very  earnest  to  do  so.  I  soon  saw  that  there  was  a 
?ery  venerable  looking  gentleman  with  him,  from  evening  to 
evening,  at  our  meetings.  They  would  attenJ  meeting 
together  ;  and  when  I  called  for  inquirers,  they  would  go  in, 
and  stand  where  they  could  get  a  place,  aad  hear  all  that 
was  said.  Who  this  venerable  gentleman  was,  I  was  not 
aware.  For  several  nights  in  succession,,  they  came  in  thia 
way ;  but  Mr.  James  did  not  introduce  me  to  the  person 
that  was  with  him,  nor  come  near,  to  speak  with  me,  at  those 
meetings. 

After  things  had  gone  on  in  this  way,  for  a  week  or  two, 
Mr.  James  and  his  venerable  friend  called  at  our  lodgings 


MEMOIB8   OF   CHARLES   G.    PI2TNEX. 

He  introduced  me  to  Dr.  Bedford,  informing  me,  at  the  samt 
time,  that  he  was  one  of  their  most  prominent  theologians ; 
that  he  had  more  confidence  in  Dr.  Bedford's  theological 
acumen,  than  he  had  in  his  own  ;  and  that  he  had  requested 
him  to  visit  Birmingham,  attend  the  meetings,  and  especially 
to  unite  with  him  in  reading  my  Theology.  He  said  they  had 
been  reading  it,  from  day  to  day ;  and  Dr.  Bedford  would 
like  to  have  some  conversation  with  me,  on  certain  points  of 
theology.  We  conversed  very  freely  on  all  the  questions  to 
which  Dr.  Bedford  wished  to  call  my  attention  ;  and  Dr. 
Bedford  said,  very  frankly,  •'  Brother  James,  I  see  no  reason 
for  regarding  Mr.  Fmney,  in  any  respect,  as  unsound. 
He  has  his  own  way  of  stating  theological  propositions ; 
but  I  cannot  see  that  he  differs,  on  any  essential  point, 
from  us." 

They  had  with  them  a  little  manual,  prepared  by  the  Con 
gregational  Union  of  England  and  Wales,  in  which  wa?  •'ound 
a  brief  statement  of  their  theological  views.  They  rmd  to 
me  certain  portions  of  this  manual ;  and  in  my  turn,  I  ques 
tioned  them.  I  heard  their  explanations,  and  was  satisfied 
there  was  a  substantial  agreement  between  us, 

Dr.  Bedford  remained  some  time  longer  at  Birmingham. 
He  then  went  home,  and,  with  my  consent,  took  with  him 
my  Systematic  Theology  ;  and  said  he  would  read  it  carefully 
through,  and  then  write  to  mf:  his  views  respecting  it.  I 
observed  that  he  was  indeed  at  home  in  theology,  was  a 
scholar  and  a  Christian,  and  a  thoroughly  educated  theolo 
gian.  I  was,  therefore,  more  than  willing  to  have  him  crit 
icise  my  theology,  that  if  there  was  anything  that  needed  to 
be  retracted  or  amended,  he  might  point  it  out.  I  requested 
him  to  do  so,  thoroughly  and  frankly.  He  took  it  home,  gave 
himself  up  to  a  thorough  examination  of  it,  and  read  the 
volumes  patiently  and  critically  through.  I  then  received 
a  letter  from  him,  expressing  his  strong  approbation  of  mj 
theological  views,  saying  there  were  a  few  points  upon 
which  he  wouli  like  to  make  some  inquiries  ;  and  he  wiihed 


FIBB1    V1B11    It)    ENGLAND.  b95 

me,  as  soon  as  I  could  get  away  from  Birmingham,  to  come 

and  preach  for  him. 

I  continued  in  Birmingham,  I  think,  about  three  months. 
There  were  a  great  many  interesting  conversions  in  that  city  ; 
and  yet  the  ministers  were  not  then  prepared  to  commit 
themselves  heartily  to  the  use  of  the  necessary  means,  to 
spread  the  revival  universally  over  the  city. 

There  was  one  case  of  so  interesting  a  character,  that  I 
will  call  attention  to  it.  I  suppose  it  is  generally  known  in 
this  country,  that  Unitarianism  in  England  was  first  de 
veloped  and  promulged  in  Birmingham.  That  was  the 
home  of  old  Dr.  Priestley,  who  was  one  of  the  principal,  if 
not  one  of  the  first  Unitarian  ministers  in  England.  His 
congregation:  *  found  still  in  existence,  in  Birmingham. 
One  evening  tr»fore  I  left  Birmingham,  I  preached  on  this 
text :  "  Ye  sJtuS-^ecked  and  uncircumcised  in  heart  and 
ears,  ye  do  always  resist  the  Holy  Ghost."  I  dwelt 
first  upon  the  divinity  and  personality  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
I  then  endeavored  to  show  in  how  many  ways,  and  on 
how  many  points,  men  resist  the  divine  teaching  ;  that 
when  convinced  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  they  still  pwiuist  m 
taking  their  own  course  ;  and  that  in  all  such  cases  they 
are  resisting  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  Lord  gave  me  liberty 
that  night,  to  preach  a  very  searching  discourse.  My  object 
was  to  show,  that  while  men  are  pleading  their  dependence 
on  the  Holy  Spirit,  they  are  constantly  resisting  him. 

I  found  in  Birmingham,  as  I  did  everywhere  in  England, 
that  the  greatest  stress  was  laid  upon  the  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  But  I  nowhere  found  any  clear  discrimination 
•jetween  a  physical  influence  of  the  Spirit,  exerted  directly 
upor  the  soul  itself,  and  that  moral,  persuasive  influence, 
which  he  in  fact  exerts  over  the  minds  of  me?)  Consequently 
I  found  it  frequently  necessary,  to  call  ths  attention  of  the 
people  to  the  work  in  which  the  Holy  Spirit  is  really  en 
gaged,  to  explain  to  them  the  express  teachings  of  Christ 
apon  this  subject :  and  thus  to  lead  them  to  see  that  they 


3%  MEMOIRS  OF  CHARLES   ft.    FDOTY 

were  not  to  wait  for  a  physical  influence,  but  to  give  them 
selves  ip  to  his  persuasive  in  ~  tance,  and  obey  his  teachings, 
This  was  the  object  of  my  diacourse  that  evening. 

After  I  arrived  at  ov. '  quarters,  a  lady  who  was  present 
at  the  meeting,  and  who  jame  into  the  family  where  we  were 
guests,  remarked  that  she  observed  a  Unitarian  minister 
present  in  the  congregation.  I  remarked  that  that  must  have 
sounded  strangely  in  the  ears  of  a  Unitarian.  She  replied, 
she  hoped  it  would  do  him  good.  Not  long  after  this,  and 
when  I  was  laboring  in  London,  I  received  a  letter  from  this 
minister,  giving  an  account  of  the  great  change  wrought  in 
his  religious  experience,  by  means  of  that  sermon.  This 
letter  I  give,  as  follows  : 

August  1«,  1850. 

REV.  AND  DEAR  SIR  : — Learning,  from  the  Banner,  that 
you  are  about  to  take  your  departure  from  England,  I  feel  it 
would  be  somewhat  ungrateful,  if  I  allow  you  to  go,  without 
expressing  the  obligation  I  am  conscious  of  being  aiiuer  to 
you,  for  the  benefit  I  received  from  a  sermon  of  yours, 
preached  in  Steel-house  Lane,  Birmingham.  I  think  it  was 
the  last  sermon  you  preached,  and  was  on  resisting  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  but  I  have  never  been  able  to  find  the  text.  Indeed, 
in  the  interest  of  the  points  that  most  concerned  me,  I 
thought  no  more  about  the  text,  for  two  or  three  days  after. 
In  order  that  you  may  understand  the  benefit  I  received  from 
the  sermon,  it  is  necessary  that  I  should  recount,  briefly,  my 
peculiar  position  at  the  time. 

I  was  educated  at  one  of  our  dissenting  colleges,  for  the 
ministry  among  the  Independents.  I  entered  upon  the  min 
istry,  and  continued  to  exercise  it  about  seven  years.  Dur 
ing  that  time,  I  gradually  underwent  a  great  change  in  my 
theok>gical  views.  The  change  was  produced,  I  think,  partly 
by  philosophical  speculations,  and  partly  in  the  deterioration 
that  had  taken  place  la  my  spiritual  condition,  I  would  say 
with  deepest  sorrow,  my  piety  never  recovered  the  tone  it 
lout  in  my  passage  through  college.  I  attribute  all  nat  SOT- 


RIB8T   VISIT   TO    ENGLAND.  597 

rows  principally  to  thia.  My  speculations  led  me,  without 
ever  having  read  Dr.  Williams'  book  on  divine  sovereignty 
and  equity,  to  adopt  fundamentally  his  views.  The  read 
ing  of  his  book,  fully  perfected  my  system.  Sin  is  a  defect, 
arising  out  of  the  necesba-ry  defectibility  of  a  creature,  when 
unsupplied  with  the  grace  of  God.  The  fall  of  man,  there 
fore,  expresses  nothing  but  the  inevitable  original  imperfec 
tion  of  the  human  race.  The  great  end  of  God's  moral 
government,  is  to  correct  this  imperfection  by  education, 
and  revelation,  and  to  ultimately  perfect  man's  condition. 
I  had  already,  and  long  previously,  adopted  Dr.  Jenkyn's 
views  of  spiritual  influence. 

Under  the  guidance  of  such  principles,  you  will  under 
stand,  without  my  explaining  how,  sin  became  a  mere  mis 
fortune,  temporarily  permitted  ;  or  rather  a  necessary  evil,  to 
be  remedied  by  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness  ;  how  eternal 
punishment  became  a  cruelty,  not  for  one  moment  to  be 
thought  of,  in  the  dispensation  of  a  good  being ;  and  how  the 
atonement  became  a  perfect  absurdity,  founded  upon  un- 
philosophical  views  of  sin.  I  became  thoroughly  Unitarian, 
and  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1848,  I  professed  my  Uni- 
tarianism,  and  became  minister  of  a  church.  The  tendencies 
of  my  mind,  however,  were  fortunately  too  logical  for  me 
long  to  be  able  to  rest  in  Unitarianism.  I  pushed  my  con 
clusions  to  simple  deism,  and  then  found  they  must  go  still 
farther.  For  this  I  was  not  prepared.  My  whole  soul 
started  back  in  horror.  I  reviewed  my  principles,  A  revo 
lution  took  place  in  my  whole  system  of  philosophy.  The 
doctrine  of  responsibility  was  restored  to  me,  in  its  most 
strict  and  literal  sense,  and  with  it  a  deep  consciousness  of 
sla.  I  need  not  enter  into  minute  details,  with  reference 
to  my  struggles  a,  1  mental  sufferings. 

About  two  weeKs  before  I  heard  you,  I  saw  clearly  I 
must  some  day  or  the  other,  readopt  the  evangelical  system. 
I  never  had  doubted  it  was  the  system  of  the  Bible.  I 
became  Unitarian,  upon  purely  rationalistic  grounds.  But 


MEMOIRS   OP   CHAKLJB&   Q. 

now  I  found  I  must  accept  the  Bible,  or  perish  in  darkness. 
You  may  imagine  the  agonie?  *£  spirit  I  had  to  endure.  On 
the  one  hand  were  convictions,  oecuming  stronger  every  day, 
the  sense  of  sin,  and  the  need  of  Christ,  obtaining  a  firmer 
hold  over  my  heart,  and  the  miserable  condition  of  withhold 
ing  the  truth  I  knew,  from  the  people  looking  up  to  me  for 
instruction.  On  the  other  hand,  if  I  professed  myself,  1 
instantly,  in  the  sight  of  all  parties,  especially  with  that 
great  majority  having  no  sympathy  with  such  struggles, 
ruined  my  character,  by  my  apparent  fickleness,  and  threw 
myself,  my  wife  and  children  upon  the  world.  I  could  not 
make  up  my  mind  to  this  alternative.  I  had  resolved  to 
wait,  gradually  to  prepare  the  people's  minds  for  the  change, 
and  by  exercising  a  more  rigid  economy,  for  some  months,  to 
make  provision  for  our  temporal  wants,  during  one  period 
of  transition.  In  this  state  of  mind  1  heard  your  sermon. 
You  will  recollect  it,  and  easily  comprehend  $»*<  effect  it 
produced,  I  felt  the  truth  of  your  arguments.  Your 
appeals  came  home  irresistibly  to  my  heart,  and  that  night, 
on  my  way  home,  I  vowed  before  God,  come  what  would,  I 
would  at  once  consecrate  myself  afresh  to  that  Saviour, 
whose  blood  I  had  so  recently  learned  to  value,  and  whose 
ralue  I  had  done  so  much  to  dishonor. 

The  result  is,  through  the  kind  influence  of  Mr.  ,  I 

have  lately  become  the  minister  of  the  church  in  this  town. 
The  peaoe  of  mind  I  now  enjoy,  does  indeed  surpass  all  un 
derstanding.  I  never  before  found  such  an  absorbing  pleas 
ure,  in  the  work  of  the  ministry.  I  enter  fully  into  the  rig- 
aificance  of  wiat  Paul  says,  "  If  any  man  be  in  Christ  he  is 
A  new  creature."  I  cannot  tell  you  therefore,  with  how  many 
feelings  of  gratitude,  your  name  will  be  associated  in  my 
soul.  I  bleas  God  for  the  kind  providence  tha-  nought  me 
to  hear  you.  It  seems  to  me  now,  more  than  probable,  had 
[  not  heard  you,  my  newly  awakened  religious  life  would 
soon  have  been  destroyed,  by  continued  resistance  to  my  deep 
convictions.  My  conscience  would  again  have  become  hard 


FIBST  VISIT  TO   ENGLAND.  g9€ 

ened,  and  I  should  have  died  in  my  sins.  Through  the 
grace  of  God,  I  shall  trace  up  to  you,  any  usefulness  God  may 
hereafter  crown  my  labors  with,  and  I  feel  it  would  be  un 
just  to  withhold  from  you,  the  knowledge  of  this  fruit  of 
your  labors.  May  God,  of  his  infinite  mercy  and  grace,  grant 
you  a  long  life  of  even  greater  usefulness,  than  he  has  yet 
olessed  you  with,  will  be  the  constant  prayer  of 
Dear  Sir,  Yours  very  truly, 


When  I  received  this  letter,  I  was  laboring  with  Rev. 
John  Campbell  in  the  old  Tabernacle  of  Whitefifcil  in  London. 
I  handed  it  to  him  to  read.  He  read  it  over  with  manifestly 
deep  emotion,  and  then  exclaimed  "There,  that  is  worth 
coming  to  England  for  ! " 

From  Birmingham  I  went  to  Worcester,  I  think  about 
the  middle  of  March,  to  labor  with  Dr.  Bedford.  I  have  said 
that  he  had  read  my  Systematic  Theology,  and  had  written 
to  me  that  he  wished  to  have  some  conversation  with  me, 
on  certain  points.  I  had  with  me,  my  replies  to  the  various 
criticisms  which  had  been  published,  and  these  I  handed 
to  Dr.  Bedford.  He  read  them  through,  and  then  called  on 
me  and  said,  "  Those  replies  have  cleared  up  all  the  ques 
tions  on  which  I  wished  to  converse  ;  therefore  I  &*&  fully 
satisfied  that  you  are  right.  After  that,  in  no  instance,  that 
I  recollect,  did  he  make  a  criticism  upon  any  part  of  my  The 
ology.  Those  who  have  seen  the  English  edition  of  that 
work,  are  aware  that  he  wrote  a  preface  to  it,  in  which  he 
commended  it  to  the  Christian  public. 

At  the  time  I  refer  to,  when  he  had  read  through  my 
replies  to  those  reviews,  he  expressed  a  strong  desire  that 
the  work  should  be  immediately  published  in  England  ;  and 
said  that  he  thought  the  work  was  greatly  needed  there,  and 
would  do  givat  good.  His  opinion  had  great  weight  in  Eng 
land,  upon  theological  questions.  Dr.  Campbell,  I  remem 
ber,  affirmed  in  his  newspaper,  that  Dr.  Bedford  was  the 
greatest  theologian  in  Europe.  I  remained  in  Worcester 


4:00  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G. 

several  weeks,  and  preached  for  Dr.  Bedford,  and  also  for  a 
Baptist  congregation  in  that  city.  There  were  many  very 
striking  conversions  ;  and  the  work  was  interesting  indeed. 

Some  wealthy  gentlemen  in  Worcester  laid  before  me  a 
proposition  to  this  effect.  They  proposed  to  erect  a  movable 
tabernacle,  or  house  of  worship  ;  one  that  could  be  taken 
town  and  transported  from  place  to  place  upon  the  railway, 
and,  at  slight  expense,  set  up  again,  with  all  its  seats,  and 
all  the  furniture  of  a  house  of  worship.  They  proposed  to 
build  it,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  square,  with  seats  so  con 
structed  as  to  provide  for  five  or  six  thousand  people.  They 
said  if  I  would  consent  to  use  it,  and  preach  in  it  from  place 
to  place,  as  circumstances  might  demand,  for  six  months, 
they  would  be  at  the  expense  of  building  it.  But  on  con 
sulting  the  ministers  at  that  place,  they  advised  me  not  to  do 
it.  They  thought  it  would  be  more  useful  for  me  to  occupy 
the  pulpits,  in  the  already  established  congregations,  in  dif 
ferent  parts  of  England,  than  to  go  through  England  preach 
ing  in  an  independent  way,  such  as  was  proposed  by  those 
gentlemen. 

As  I  had  reason  to  believe  the  ministers  generally  would 
disapprove  of  a  course  then  so  novel,  I  declined  to  pledge 
myself  to  occupy  it.  I  have  since  thought  that  I  probably 
made  a  mistake ;  for  when  I  came  to  be  acquainted  with 
the  congregations,  -and  places  of  public  worship,  of  the  Inde 
pendent  hurches,  I  found  them  generally  so  small,  so  badly 
ventilated,  so  situated,  so  hedged  in  and  circumscribed  by 
:he  Church — I  mean,  of  course,  the  Establishment — that  it 
has  since  appeared  to  me  doubtful  whether  I  was  right ;  as  I 
aavr  been  of  opinion  that  I  could,  upon  the  whole,  have 
accomplished  much  greater  good  in  England,  by  carrying  as 
it  were,  my  own  place  of  worship  with  me,  goxag  where  I 
pleased,  and  providing  for  the  gathering  of  the  masses,  irre 
spective  of  denominations.  If  my  strength  were  now  as  it 
was  then,  I  should  be  strongly  inclined  to  visit  England 
again,  and  try  an  experiment  of  that  kind.  Dr.  Bedford  Iras 


FIRST   VISIT  TO   ENGLAND.  401 

affected  by  the  work  in  Worcester ;  and  at  the  May 
anniversaries  in  London,  he  addressed  the  Congregational 
union  of  England  and  Wales,  and  gave  a  very  interesting 
account  of  this  work.  I  attended  those  May  meetings,  being 
about  to  commence  labor  with  Dr.  John  Campbell,  in  London. 

Dr.  Campbell  was  a  successor  of  Whitefield,  and  was  pastoi 
of  the  church  at  the  Tabernacle  in  Finsbury,  London,  and 
also  of  the  Tottenham  Court  Eoad  chapel.  These  chapels  are 
both  in  London,  and  about  three  miles  apart.  They  were 
built  for  Mr.  Whitefield,  and  occupied  by  him  for  years. 
Dr.  Campbell  was  also  at  that  time  editor  of  the  British 
Banner,  the  Christian  Witness,  and  of  one  or  two  other 
periodicals.  His  voice  was  such  that  he  did  not  preach,  but 
gave  his  time  to  the  editing  of  those  papers.  He  lived  in 
the  parsonage  in  which  Whitefield  resided,  and  used  the  same 
library,  I  believe,  that  Whitefield  had  used.  Whitefield's  por 
trait  hung  in  his  study  in  the  Tabernacle.  The  savor  of  his 
name  was  still  there  ;  yet  I  must  say  that  the  spirit  that  had 
been  upon  him,  was  not  very  apparent  in  the  church,  at  the 
time  I  went  there.  I  said  that  Dr.  Campbell  did  not  preach 
He  still  held  the  pastorate,  resided  in  the  parsonage,  and 
drew  the  salary  ;  but  he  supplied  his  pulpit  by  employing,  for 
a  few  weeks  at  a  time,  the  most  popular  ministers  that  coald 
be  employed,  to  preach  to  his  people.  I  began  my  labors 
there  early  in  May.  Those  who  are  acquainted  with  the 
workings  of  sucu  a  constant  change  in  the  ministry,  as  the} 
had  had  at  the  Tabernacle,  would  not  expect  religion  in  the 
church,  to  be  in  a  flourishing  condition. 

Dr.  Campbell's  house  of  worship  was  large.  It  was 
compactly  seated,  and  could  accommodate  full  three  thou 
sand  persons.  A  friend  of  mine  took  particular  pains  tc 
ascertain  which  would  hold  the  greatest  number  of  people, 
the  Tabernacle  in  Moorfields  or  Finsbury,  or  the  greai 
Exeter  Hall,  of  which  every  body  has  heard.  It  was  ascer 
tained  that  the  Tabernacle  would  seat  some  hundreds  more 
than  Exeter  Hall. 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

iiABOBS   IV  THE  TABERNACLE,  MOOR2IELD8,  LOHDOR. 

[HAD  accepted  Dr.  Campbell's  cordial  invitation  k 
supply  jiis  pulpit  for  a  time,  and  accordingly,  after  the 
*Cay  meetings  I  put  in,  in  earnest,  for  a  revival  ;  though  1 
laid  no  such  thing  to  Dr.  Campbell,  or  any  body  else,  fpr 
some  weeks.  I  preached  a  course  of  sermons  designed  to 
convict  the  people  of  sin,  as  deeply  and  as  universally  as 
possible  I  saw  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath,  and  from  even 
ing  to  evening,  that  the  word  was  taking  great  effect.  OD 
Sabbath  day,  I  preached  morning  and  evening ;  and  I  also 
preached  on  Tuesday,  Wednesday,  Thursday  and  Friday 
evenings.  On  Monday  evening,  we  had  a  general  prayer- 
meeting  in  the  Tabernacle.  At  each  of  those  meetings  I 
addressed  the  people  on  the  suuject  of  prayer.  Our  congre 
gations  were  very  large  ;  and  always  on  Sabbath,  and  Sab 
bath  evenings,  the  house  was  crowded. 

Religion   had  so  declined  throughout  London,  at   that 
time,  that  very  few  weekly  sermons  were  preached  ;  and  1 
recollect  that  Dr.  Campbell  said  to  me  once,  that  he  believed 
I  preached  to  more  people,  during  the  week  evenings,  thac 
all  the  rest  of  the  ministers  in  London  together.     I  have 
said  that  Dr.   Campbell  had   the  salary  belonging   to  the 
pastor,  in  his  congregation.     But  this  salary,  he  did  not  use 
for  himself,  at  least  more  than  a  part  of  it ;  because  he  sup 
plied  the  pulpit  at  his  own  expense,  while   he  performed 
such  parochial  duties,  as  it  was  possible  for  him  to  perform, 
under  such  a  pressure  of  editorial  labors.     I  found  Dr 
Campbell  to  be  an  earnest,  but  a  very  belligerent,  man 
Se  was  always  griven  to  controversy     To  use  an  Americar 


LABORS   IN   LONDON.  403 

expression,  he  was  given  to  "  pitching  into  "  everybody  and 
everything  that  did  not  correspond  with  his  views.  In  this 
way  he  did  a  great  deal  of  good ;  and  occasionally,  I  fear, 
some  harm- 
After  preaching  for  several  weeks,  in  the  manner  that  I 
ha  ve  described,  I  knew  that  it  was  time  to  call  for  inquirers. 
But  Dr.  Campbell,  I  perceived,  had  no  such  idea  in  his  mind. 
Indeed  he  had  not  sat  where  he  could  witness  what  was  going 
on  in  the  congregation,  as  I  could  from  the  pulpit ;  and  if 
he  had  done,  he  probably  would  not  have  understood  it. 
The  practice  in  that  church,  is  to  hold  a  communion  service 
every  alternate  Sabbath  evening.  On  these  occasions  they 
would  have  a  short  sermon,  then  dismiss  the  congregation ; 
and  all  would  retire,  except  those  that  had  tickets  for  the 
communion  service,  who  would  remain  while  that  ordinance 
was  celebrated. 

On  the  Sabbath  morning  to  which  I  have  referred,  I  said 
to  Dr.  Campbell,  "  You  have  a  communion  service  to-night, 
and  I  must  have  a  meeting  of  inquiry  at  the  same  time. 
Have  you  any  room,  anywhere  on  the  premises,  to  whicn  J 
can  invite  inquirers  after  preaching  ? "  He  hesitated,  and 
expressed  doubts  whether  there  were  any  that  would  attend 
such  a  meeting  as  that.  However,  as  I  pressed  the  matter 
upon  him,  he  replied,  "  Yes,  there  is  the  infant  school  room, 
to  which  you  might  invite  them."  1  inquired  how  many 
persons  it  could  accommodate.  He  replied,  "From  twenty 
to  thirty,  or  perhaps  forty."  "  0,"  I  said,  "  that  is  not  half 
large  enough  Have  you  not  a  larger  room  ?  "  At  this  he 
expressed  astonishment ;  and  inquired  if  I  thought  that  there 
was  interest  enough  in  the  congregation,  to  warrant  any  such 
invitation  as  I  had  intended  to  give.  I  told  him  there  were 
hundreds  of  inquirers  in  the  congregation.  But  at  this  he 
laughed,  and  said  it  was  impossible.  I  asked  him  if  he  had 
not  a  larger  room.  "Why  yes,"  he  said,  "there  is  the 
British  school  room.  But  that  will  hold  fifteen  or  sixteen 
hundred;  of  course  you  don't  want  that."  "Yes,"  said  I 


404  UHMOIK8    OF   CHARLES    Gr. 

''that  is  the  very  room.  Where  is  it?"  "0,"said  he 
"  surely  you  will  not  venture  to  appoint  a  meeting  there. 
Not  half  as  many  would  attend,  I  presume,  as  could  get  into 
tile  l^fa-nt  school-room."  Said  he,  "Mr.  Finney,  remembei 
you  are  in  England,  and  in  London  ;  and  that  you  are  no 
acquainted  with  our  people.  You  might  get  people  to  attend 
such  a  meeting,  under  such  a  call  as  you  propose  to  make, 
in  America ;  but  you  will  not  get  people  to  attend  here. 
Remember  that  our  evening  service  is  out  before  the  sun  is 
down,  at  this  time  of  year.  And  do  you  suppose  that  in  the 
midst  of  London,  under  an  invitation  to  those  that  are  seek 
ing  the  salvation  of  their  souls,  and  are  anxious  on  that  sub 
ject,  that  they  will  single  themselves  out,  right  in  the  day 
time,  and  under  such  a  call  as  that,  publicly  given,  to  attend 
such  a  meeting  as  that?"  I  replied  to  him,  "Dr.  Camp 
bell,  I  know  what  the  state  of  the  people  is,  better  than  you 
do.  The  Gospel  is  as  well  adapted  to  the  English  people  as 
to  the  American  people  ;  and  I  have  no  fears  at  all,  that  the 
pride  of  the  people  will  prevent  their  responding  to  such  a 
oall,  any  more  than  it  would  the  people  in  America." 

I  asked  him  to  tell  me  where  that  room  was  ;  and  so  to 
specify  it,  that  I  could  point  it  out  to  the  people,  and  make 
the  appeal  that  I  intended  to  make.  After  a  good  deal  of 
discussion,  the  doctor  reluctantly  consented  ;  but  told  me 
expressly,  that  I  must  take  the  responsibility  on  myself,  that 
he  would  not  share  it.  I  replied  that  I  expected  to  take  the 
responsibility,  and  was  prepared  to  do  so.  He  then  gave  me 
oarticular  directions  about  the  place,  which  was  but  a  little 
distance  from  the  Tabernacle.  The  people  had  to  pass  up 
Oowper  street  toward  City  road,  a  few  rods,  and  turn  through 
a  narrow  passage,  to  the  British  school  room  building.  We 
then  went  to  meeting ;  and  I  preached  in  the  morning,  and 
again  at  evening  ;  that  is,  at  six  o'clock,  if  I  recollect  the 
hour.  I  preached  a  short  sermon,  and  then  informed  the 
people  what  I  desired.  I  called  upon  all  who  were  anxioug 
for  their  souls,  and  who  were  then  disposed,  immediately,  tr 


LABORS   IS    LONDON.  406 

make  their  peace  with  God,  to  attend  a  meeting  for  instruc 
tion,  adapted  to  their  state  of  mind.  I  was  very  particular, 
in  regard  to  the  class  of  persons  invited.  I  said,  "  Profes 
sors  of  religion  are  not  invited  to  attend  this  meeting. 
1'here  is  to  be  a  communion  service  here  :  let  them  remain 
here.  Careless  sinners  are  not  invited  to  this  meeting. 
Those,  and  those  only,  are  expected  to  attend,  who  are  not 
Christians,  but  who  are  anxious  for  the  salvation  of  their 
souls,  and  wish  instruction  given  them  directly,  upon  the 
question  of  their  present  duty  to  God."  This  I  repeated,  so 
as  not  to  be  misunderstood.  Dr.  Campbell  listened  with 
great  attention  ;  and  I  presume  he  expected,  since  I  had 
restricted  my  appeal  to  such  a  class,  that  very  few,  if  any, 
would  attend.  I  was  determined  not  to  have  the  mass  of 
the  people  go  into  that  room  ;  and  furthermore,  that  those 
who  did  go,  should  go  with  the  express  understanding,  that 
they  were  inquiring  sinners.  I  was  particular  on  this 
point ;  not  only  for  the  sake  of  the  results  of  the  meeting, 
out  to  convince  Dr.  Campbell  that  his  view  of  the  subject 
was  a  mistaken  one.  I  felt  entirely  confident,  that  there  was 
a  great  amount  of  conviction  in  the  congregation,  and  that 
hundreds  were  prepared  to  respond  to  such  a  call,  at  once, 
I  was  perfectly  confident  that  I  was  not  premature,  in  mak 
ing  such  a  call.  I  therefore  proceeded  very  particularly  to 
point  out  the  class  of  persons  whom  I  wished  to  attend,  and 
the  manner  in  which  they  would  find  the  place.  I  then  dis 
missed  the  meeting,  and  the  congregation  retired. 

Dr.  Campbell  nervously  and  anxiously  looked  out  of  the 
jrindow,  to  see  which  way  the  congregation  went ;  and  to  hie 
great  astonishment,  Cowper  street  was  perfectly  crowded 
with  people,  pressing  up  to  get  into  the  British  school -room. 
I  passed  out,  and  went  up  with  the  crowd,  and  waited  at  the 
entrance,  till  the  multitude  went  in.  When  I  entered,  1 
found  the  room  packed.  Dr.  Campbelfb  impression  was, 
that  there  were  not  less  than  fifteen  or  sixteen  hundred 


tOb  MEMOIBS   OF  CHARLES   G. 

present.     It  was  a  large  room,  seated  with  forms  or  benches, 
such  as  are  often  used  in  school-rooms. 

There  was  near  the  entrance  a  platform,  on  which  the 
speakers  stood,  whenever  they  had  public  meetings,  which 
was  of  frequent  occurrence.  I  soon  discovered  that  the  con 
gregation  were  pressed  with  conviction,  in  such  a  manner 
that  great  care  needed  to  be  taken,  to  prevent  an  explosion 
iif  irrepressible  feeling.  It  was  but  a  very  short  time  before 
Dr.  Campbell  came  in  himself.  Observing  such  a  crowd 
gather,  he  was  full  of  anxiety  to  be  present ,  and  conse 
quently  hastened  through  with  his  communion  services,  and 
came  into  the  meeting  of  inquiry.  He  looked  amazed  at  the 
crowd  present,  and  especially  at  the  amount  of  feeling  mani 
fested.  I  addressed  them  for  a  short  time,  on  the  question 
of  immediate  duty  ;  and  endeavored,  as  I  always  do,  to 
make  them  understand  that  God  required  of  them  then  to 
yield  themselves  entirely  to  his  will,  to  ground  their  weap 
ons  of  rebellion,  make  their  submission  to  him  as  their  right 
ful  sovereign,  and  accept  Jesus  as  their  only  Redeemer. 

I  had  been  in  England  long  enough  to  feel  the  necessity 
of  being  very  particular,  in  giving  them  such  instructions  as 
would  do  away  their  idea  of  waiting  (rod's  time.  London 
is,  and  long  has  been,  cursed  with  hyper-calvinistic  preach 
ing.  I  therefore  aimed  my  remarks  at  the  subversion  of 
those  ideas,  in  which  I  supposed  many  of  them  had  been  edu 
cated  ;  for  but  few  persons  present,  I  supposed,  belonged 
properly  to  Dr.  Campbell's  congregation.  Indeed,  he  had 
himself  told  me  that  the  congregation  which  he  saw  from 
day  to  day,  was  new  to  him  ;  that  the  masses  who  were 
tij-onging  there  were  as  much  unknown  to  him  as  they  were 
to  me.  I  tried  therefore  in  my  instructions,  to  guard  them 
on  the  one  hand  against  hyper-calvinism,  and  on  the  other 
against  that  low  Arminianism  in  which  I  supposed  many  01* 
them  had  been  educated. 

1  then,  after  I  had  laid  the  gospel  net  thoroughly  around 
them,  prepared  to  draw  it  ashore.  As  I  was  about  to  ask 


LABORS   IN    LONDOJS.  407 

them  to  kneel  down,  and  commit  themselves  entirely  and  for 
ever  to  Christ,  a  man  cried  out  in  the  midst  of  the  congre 
gation,  in  the  greatest  distress  of  mind,  that  he  had  sinned 
away  his  day  of  grace.  I  saw  that  there  was  danger  of  an 
uproar,  and  I  hushed  it  down  as  best  I  could,  and  called  or. 
the  people  to  kneel  down  ;  but  to  keep  so  quiet,  if  possible, 
that  they  could  hear  every  word  of  the  prayer  that  I  wa* 
about  to  offer.  They  did,  by  a  manifest  effort,  keep  Sv»  still 
as  to  hear  what  was  said,  although  there  was  a  great  sobbing 
and  weeping  in  every  part  of  the  house. 

I  then  dismissed  the  meeting.  After  this  I  held  similar 
meetings,  with  similar  results,  frequently  on  Sabbath  evening, 
while  I  remained  with  that  congregation,  which  was  in  all 
nine  months.  The  interest  rose  and  extended  so  far,  that  the 
inquirers  could  not  be  accommodated  in  that  large  British 
school-room  ;  and  frequently  when  I  saw  that  the  impression 
on  the  congregation  was  very  general  and  deep,  after  giving 
them  suitable  instructions,  and  bringing  them  face  to  face 
with  the  question  of  unqualified  and  present  surrender  of  all 
to  Christ,  I  would  call  on  those  that  were  prepared  in  mind 
to  do  this,  to  stand  up  in  their  places,  while  we  offered  them 
to  God  in  prayer.  The  aisles  in  that  house  were  so  narrow 
and  so  packed,  that  it  was  impossible  to  use  what  is  called 
the  anxious  seat,  or  for  people  to  more  about  at  all  in  the 
congregation. 

Frequently  when  I  made  these  calls,  for  people  to  arise 
and  offer  themselves  while  we  offered  them  in  prayer,  many 
hundreds  would  arise  ;  and  on  some  occasions,  if  the  houfie 
seated  as  many  as  was  supposed,  not  less  than  two  thousand 
people  sometimes  arose,  when  an  appeal  was  made.  Indeed 
it  would  appear  from  the  pulpit  as  if  nearly  the  whole  con 
gregation  arose.  And  yet  I  did  not  call  upon  church-mem 
bers,  but  simply  upon  inquirers  to  stand  up  and  commit 
themselves  to  God. 

In  the  midst  of  the  work,  a  circumstance  occurred  which 
will  illustrate  the  extent  of  the  religious  interest  conn  enter) 


ttfc  MEMOIRS   OF  CHA&LES   (i. 

with  that  congregation  at  that  time.  The  circumstance 
to  which  I  allude  was  this  :  The  dissenters  in  England  had 
been  for  a  good  while  endeavoring  to  persuade  the  govern 
ment  to  have  more  respect  in  their  action,  than  they  were 
wont  to  do,  to  the  dissenting  interest  in  that  country.  Bat 
they  had  always  been  answered  in  a  way  that  implied  that 
the  dissenting  interest  was  small,  as  compared  with  that  of 
the  established  church.  So  much  had  been  said  on  this 
subject  that  the  government  determined  to  take  measures  to 
ascertain  the  relative  strength  of  the  two  parties,  that  is,  of  the 
dissenters  and  the  church  of  England.  On  a  certain  Satur 
day  night,  without  any  previous  warning  or  notice  whatever, 
that  should  lead  the  people  anywhere  to  understand  or  even 
suspect  the  movement,  a  message  was  secretly  sent  to  every 
place  of  worship  in  the  kingdom,  requesting  that  individuals 
should  be  selected  to  stand  at  the  doors  of  all  the  churches, 
and  chapels,  and  places  of  worship  in  the  whole  kingdom, 
on  the  next  Sabbath  morning,  to  take  the  census  of  all 
that  entered  houses  of  worship  of  every  denomination. 
Such  a  notice  was  sent  to  Dr.  Campbell ;  but  I  did  not 
know  it  till  afterward.  In  obedience  to  directions,  he 
placed  men  at  every  door  of  the  Tabernacle,  with  instruc 
tions  to  count  every  person  that  went  in,  during  the 
morning  service.  This  was  done,  as  I  understood,  through 
out  the  whole  of  Great  Briatin.  In  this  way  they  ascertained 
the  relative  strength  of  the  two  parties ;  in  other  words, 
which  had  the  most  worshippers  on  Sabbath,  the  dissenters 
or  the  established  church.  I  believe  this  census  proved  that 
the  dissenters  were  in  H  majority.  But  however  this  may 
be,  Dr.  Campbell  told  me  that  the  men  stationed  at  the  doors 
of  the  Tabernacle,  reported  several  thousands  mere  than 
could  at  any  one  time  get  into  the  house.  This  arose  from  the 
fact  that  multitudes  entered  the  doors,  and  finding  no  place 
to  sit  or  stand,  would  give  place  to  others.  The  interest  was 
so  great,  that  a  place  of  worship  that  would  hold  many 
thousand!,  would  have  been  just  as  full  as  the  Tabernacle 


LABOBS   IK    LONDON.  409 

Whence  they  all  came,  Dr.  Campbell  did  not  know,  and 
no  one  could  tell ;  but  that  hundreds  and  thousands  of  them 
were  converted,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt.  Indeed,  I  saw 
and  conversed  with  vast  numbers,  and  labored  in  this  way  to 
the  full  limit  of  my  strength. 

On  Saturday  evening,  inquirers  and  converts  would  come 
to  the  study  for  conversation.  Great  numbers  came  every 
week,  hiid  conversions  multiplied.  People  came,  as  I 
learned,  from  every  part  of  the  city.  Many  people  walked 
several  miles  every  Sabbath  to  attend  the  meetings.  Soon 
I  began  to  be  accosted  in  the  streets,  IB  .afferent  parts  of  the 
city,  by  people  who  knew  me,  and  hac  been  greatly  blessed 
in  attending  our  meetings.  Indeed,  the  word  of  God  wa* 
blessed,  greatly  blessed  in  London  at  that  time. 

One  day  Dr.  Campbell  requested  me  to  go  in,  and  make  a 
few  remarks  to  the  scholars  in  the  British  school-room.  I 
did  so,  and  began  by  asking  them  what  they  proposed  to  do 
with  their  education,  and  dwelt  upon  their  responsibility  in 
that  respect.  I  tried  to  show  them  how  much  good  they 
might  do,  and  how  great  a  blessing  their  education  would  be 
to  them  and  to  the  wori^  if  they  used  it  aright,  and  what  a 
great  curse  it  would  be  to  them  and  to  the  world,  if  they 
used  it  selfishly.  The  address  was  short;  but  that  point 
was  strongly  urged  upon  them.  Dr.  Campbell  afterward 
remarked  to  me,  that  a  goodly  number,  I  forget  now  how 
many,  had  been  received  to  the  church,  who  were  at  that 
time  awakened,  and  led  to  seek  the  salvation  of  their  souls. 
He  mentioned  it  as  a  remarkable  fact,  because,  he  said,  he 
had  no  expectation  that  such  a  result  would  follow. 

The  fact  is,  that  the  ministers  in  England,  as  well  as  iu 
inis  country,  had  lost  sight,  in  a  great  measure,  of  the  neces 
sity  of  pressing  present  obligations  home  upon  the  consciences 
of  the  people.  "  Why,"  said  Dr.  Campbell,  when  he  told 
me  of  this,  "I  don't  understand  it.  Yoi<  did  not  say  any 
thing  but  what  anybody  else  might  have  said  just  as  well" 
w  Yes,"  I  replied,  "they  might  have  said  it ;  but  would  they 
18 


410  MEMOIRS  OF   CHARLES  G.    FIN1TBY 

have  said  it  ?  Would  they  have  made  as  direct  and  pointed 
an  appeal  to  the  consciences  of  those  young  people,  as  I 
did  ?  "  This  is  the  difficulty.  Ministers  talk  about  sinners  ; 
and  do  not  make  the  impression  that  God  commands  them, 
now  to  repent ;  and  thus  they  throw  their  ministry  away. 

Indeed  I  seldom  hear  a  sermon  that  seems  to  be  con 
structed  with  the  intention  of  bringing  sinners  at  once,  face 
to  face  with  their  present  duty  to  God.  YOQ  would 
scarcely  get  the  idea  from  the  sermons  that  are  heard,  either 
in  this  country  or  in  England,  that  nr  ulsters  expect  or 
intend,  to  be  instrumental  in  converting,  at  the  time,  any 
body  in  the  house. 

A  fact  was  related  to  me  some  time  ago,  that  will  illus 
trate  what  I  have  just  said.  Two  young  men  who  were 
acquaintances,  but  had  very  different  views  of  preaching  the 
Gospel,  were  settled  over  congregations,  at  no  great  distance 
from  each  other.  One  of  them  had  a  powerful  revival  in 
his  congregation,  and  the  other  had  none.  One  was  having 
continual  accessions  to  his  church,  and  the  other  none. 
They  met  one  day,  and  he  who  had  no  accession  to  his 
church,  inquired  of  his  brother  the  cause  of  the  difference 
between  them  ;  imd  asked  if  he  might  take  one  of  his 
sermons  and  preach  it  to  his  people,  and  see  if  it  had  any 
different  effect  from  his  own.  The  arrangement  was 
made  ;  and  he  preached  the  borrowed  sermon  to  his  people. 
It  was  a  sermon,  though  written,  yet  constructed  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  sinners  face  to  face  with  their  duty  to 
God.  At  the  close  of  the  service  he  saw  that  many  were 
very  much  affected,  and  remained  in  their  seats  weeping, 
lie  therefore  made  a  profound  apology,  saying  he  hoped  he 
had  not  hurt  their  feelings,  for  he  did  not  in cend  it. 

My  own  mind  was  greatly  exercised,  in  view  of  the  moral 
desolation  of  t^at  vast  city  of  London.  The  places  of  wor 
ship  in  the  city,  as  I  teamed,  were  sufficient  to  accommodate 
only  a  small  part  oi  tne  inhabitants.  But  I  was  greatl) 
interested  in  a  movement  that  sprang  up  among  the  Episco- 


LABORS   IN   LONDOK.  411 

palians.  Numbers  of  their  ministers  came  in,  and  attended 
our  meetings.  One  of  the  rectors,  a  Mr.  Allen,  became  very 
much  engaged,  and  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  try  to 
promote  a  revival  in  his  own  great  parish.  As  he  afterward 
informed  me,  he  went  around  and  established  twenty  prayer- 
meetings  in  his  parish,  at  different  points.  He  ^ent  to  preach 
ing  with  all  his  might,  directly  to  the  people.  The  Lord 
greatly  blessed  his  labors,  and  before  I  left,  he  informed  me 
that  not  less  than  fifteen  hundred  persons  had  been  hope 
fully  converted  in  his  parish.  Several  other  Episcopal  min 
isters  were  greatly  stirred  up,  and  quickened  in  their  souls, 
and  went  to  holding  protract*?"  or  continuous  services. 
When  I  left  London,  there  were  four  or  five  different  Epis 
copal  churches  that  were  holding  daily  meetings,  and  making 
efforts  to  promote  a  revival.  In  every  instance,  I  believe, 
they  were  greatly  blessed  and  refreshed.  It  was  ten  years 
before  I  visited  London  again  to  labor  ;  and  I  was  told  that 
the  work  had  never  ceased ;  that  it  had  been  going  on,  and 
enlarging  its  borders,  and  spreading  in  different  directions. 
I  found  many  of  the  converts,  the  second  time  1  visited 
there,  laboring  in  different  parts  of  London  in  various  ways, 
and  with  great  success. 

I  have  said  my  mind  was  greatly  exercised  about  the  staie 
of  London.  I  was  scarcely  ever  T\/re  drawn  out  in  prayer 
for  any  city  or  place  than  I  was  for  London.  Sometimes, 
when  I  prayed,  in  public  especially,  it  seemed,  with  the  mul 
titudes  before  me,  as  if  I  could  not  stop  praying ;  and  that 
the  spirit  of  prayer  would  almost  draw  me  out  of  myself,  io 
pleadings  for  the  people,  and  for  the  city  at  large.  I  had 
hardly  more  than  arrived  in  England,  before  I  began  to 
receive  multitudes  of  invitations  to  preach,  for  the  purpose 
of  taking  up  collections  for  different  objects  :  to  pay  the 
pastor's  salary,  to  help  pay  for  a  chap<n,  or  to  raise  money 
for  the  Sabbath-school,  or  for  some  such  object  And  had 
I  complied  with  their  requests,  I  could  have  done  nothing 
else.  But  I  declined  to  go,  in  answer  to  any  such  call.  f 


41*  MEMOIRS   OF   GHJLKLES   G.    FINN" BY. 

told  ihem  I  had  not  come  to  England,  to  get  money  for  my 
self  or  for  them.     My  object  was  to  win  souls  to  Christ 

After  I  had  preached  for  Dr.  Campbell  about  four 
months  and  a  half,  I  became  rery  hoarra  ;  and  my  wife'i 
health  also  became  much  affec^d  by  the  climate,  and  by 
our  intense  labors.  And  here  I  must  commence  more  par 
ticularly,  a  recital  of  what  God  did  by  her. 

Up  to  this  time  she  had  attended  and  taken  part  only  in 
meetings  for  women  ;  and  those  were  so  new  a  thing  in 
England  that  she  had  done  but  little  thus  far  in  that  way. 
But  while  we  were  at  Dr.  Campbell's,  a  request  was  made 
that  she  would  attend  a  tea-meeting  of  poor  women,  with 
out  education  and  without  religion.  Tea-meetings,  as  they 
are  called,  are  held  in  England,  to  bring  together  p*  r-ple  for 
any  special  object.  Such  a  meeting  was  called  by  some  of 
the  benevolent  Christian  gentlemen  and  ladies,  and  niy  wife 
was  urgently  requested  to  attend  it.  She  consented,  having 
no  thought  that  gentlemen  would  remain  in  the  meeting, 
while  she  made  her  address.  However,  when  she  got  there, 
she  found  the  place  crowded  ;  and,  in  addition  to  the 
women,  a  considerable  number  of  gentlemen,  who  were 
greatly  interested  in  the  results  of  the  meeting.  She  waited 
a  little,  expecting  that  they  would  retire.  But  as  they  re 
mained,  and  expected  her  to  take  charge  of  the  meeting,  she 
arose,  and,  I  believe,  apologized  for  being  called  to  speak  in 
public,  informing  them  that  she  had  never  been  in  the  habit 
of  doing  so.  She  had  then  been  my  wife  but  a  little  more 
tnan  a  year,  and  had  never  been  abroad  with  me  to  labor  in 
revivals,  an  til  we  went  to  England.  She  made  an  address  at 
this  meeting,  as  she  informed  me  after  she  came  to  our 
lodgings,  of  about  three-quarters  of  an  hour  in  length,  and 
with  very  manifest  good  results.  The  poor  women  present 
seemed  to  be  gi*atly  mo  ml  and  interested  ;  and  when  she 
had  done  speaking,  some  of  the  gentlemen  present  arose,  and 
expressed  their  great  satisfaction  at  what  they  had  heard, 
They  said  thev  had  had  prejudices  aerainst  women 


NABOBS   IN   LOXIXXN.  418 

m  public  ;  but  they  could  sec  no  objection  to  it  under  such 
circumstances,  and  they  saw  that  it  was  manifestly  calcu 
lated  to  do  great  good.  They  therefore  requested  her  to 
attend  other  similar  meetings,  which  she  did.  When  she 
returned,  she  told  me  what  she  had  done,  and  said  that  she 
did  not  know  but  it  would  excite  the  prejudices  of  the  peo 
ple  of  England,  and  perhaps  do  more  harm  than  good.  1 
feared  this  myself,  and  so  expressed  myself  ti»  "her.  Yet  I 
believe  I  did  not  advise  her  to  keep  still,  and  not  attend  any 
more  such  meetings  ;  but  after  more  consideration  I  encour 
aged  it.  From  that  time  she  became  more  and  more 
accustomed,  while  we  remained  in  England,  to  that  kind  of 
labor  ;  and  after  we  returned  home,  she  continued  to  labor 
with  her  own  sex  wherever  we  went.  Upon  this  I  shall 
have  occasion  to  enlarge,  when  I  speak  of  the  revivals  in 
which  she  bore  a  very  prominent  part. 

There  were  a  great  number  of  most  interesting  cases  of 
conversion  in  London  at  that  time,  from  almost  all  classes 
of  society.  I  preached  a  great  deal  on  confession  and  resti 
tution  ;  the  results  of  which  were  truly  wonderful.  Almost 
every  form  of  crime  was  thus  searched  out  and  confessed. 
Hundreds,  and  I  believe  thousands  of  pounds  r&rling  were 
paid  over  to  make  restitution. 

Every  one  acquainted  with  London  is  aware  that  from 
early  in  November  till  the  next  March,  the  city  is  very 
gloomy,  and  has  a  miserable  atmosphere  either  to  breathe  or 
to  speak  in.  We  went  there  early  in  May.  In  September 
my  friend  Brown,  of  Houghton,  called  on  us,  and  seeing  the 
state  of  health  that  we  were  both  in,  he  said,  "This  will 
miver  do.  You  must  go  to  France,  or  somewhere  on  the 
continent  where  they  cannot  understand  your  language; 
for  there  is  no  rest  for  you  in  England  as  long  as  you  are 
able  to  speak  at  all.*  After  talking  the  matter  over,  we 
concluded  to  take  his  advice,  and  go  for  a  little  while  to 
France.  He  handed  me  fifty  pounds  sterling,  to  meet  our 
expenses.  We  went  to  Paris,  and  various  other  places  in 


4:14  MEMOIRS    OF   CHARLES    G. 

France.  We  sedulously  avoided  making  any  acquaintances, 
and  kept  ourselves  as  quiet  as  possible.  The  influence  of  the 
change  of  climate  upon  my  wife's  health,  *ap  very  marked. 
She  recovered  her  full  tone  of  strength  very  rapidly.  I 
gradually  got  over  my  hoarseness  ;  and  after  an  absence  oi 
about  six  weeks,  we  returned  to  our  labors  in  the  Tabernacle, 
where  we  continued  to  labor  till  early  in  the  next  April, 
wnen  we  left  for  home.  I  left  England  with  great  reluc 
tance.  But  the  prosperity  of  our  college  seemed  to  require 
that  I  should  return.  We  had  become  greatly  interested  in 
the  people  of  England,  and  desired  very  much  to  remain 
there,  and  protract  our  labors.  We  sailed  in  a  large  packet 
ship,  the  Southampton,  from  London.  On  the  day  that  we 
sailed,  a  multitude  of  people  who  had  been  interested  in  our 
labors,  gathered  upon  the  wharf.  A  great  majority  of  them 
were  young  converts.  The  ship  had  to  wait  for  the  tide, 
and  for  several  hours  there  was  a  vast  crowd  of  people  in  the 
open  space  around  the  ship,  waiting  to  see  us  off.  Tearing 
away  from  such  a  multitude  of  loving  hearts,  completely 
overcame  the  strength  of  my  wife.  As  soon  as  the  ship  wag 
clear  of  the  dock,  she  ictired  to  our  state-room.  I  remained 
upon  the  deck  and  watched  the  waving  of  handkerchiefs, 
until  we  were  swept  down  the  river,  out  of  sight. 
elosed  our  labors  in  England,  on  our  first  visit  there. 


CHAPTER  XXX, 

LABORS   IN   HARTFORD   AHD   Itf   SYRACUSE. 

"TTT~E  arrived  at  Oberlin  in  May,  1851,  and  after  the  usual 
VV  labors  of  the  summer,  we  left  in  the  autumn  foi 
New  York  city,  expecting  to  spend  the  winter,  as  I  had 
been  invited  to  do,  in  labor  in  Rev.  Dr.  Thompson's  church, 
in  the  old  Broadway  Tabernacle.  But  after  preaching  there 
a  short  time,  I  found  so  many  hindrances  in  the  way  of 
our  work,  especially  the  liability  to  the  interruption  of  our 
evening  services,  by  the  practice  of  letting  the  Tabernacle  for 
public  lectures,  that  J  despaired  of  success  in  the  effort  to 
promote  a  general  revival.  I  therefore  left,  and  accepted 
an  invitation  to  go  to  Hartford,  ard  hold  a  series  of  meet 
ings.  I  was  invited  by  Rev.  William.  W.  Patton,  who  was 
then  pastor  of  one  of  the  Congregational  churches  of 
that  city. 

Very  soon  after  I  began  my  labors  there,  a  powerful 
revival  influence  was  manifested  among  the  people.  But 
there  was  at  this  time  an  unhappy  state  of  disagreement 
existing  between  Dr.  Hawes  and  Dr.  Bushnell.  The 
orthodoxy  of  Dr.  Bushnell,  as  is  well-known,  had  been  called 
in  question.  Dr.  Hawes  was  himself  of  the  opinion  that 
Dr.  BushnelFs  views  were  highly  objectionable.  However, 
both  Dr.  Hawes  and  Dr.  Bushnell  attended  our  meetings,  and 
manifested  a  great  interest  in  the  work,  which  they  saw  had 
fairly  begun.  They  invited  me  to  preach  in  their  churches, 
which  I  did.  Still  the  lay  brethren  through  the  city  felt  as 
if  the  disagreement  among  the  ministers  was  a  stumbling, 
block  in  the  way  ;  and  there  was  a  considerable  urgency  ex 
pressed  +-O  have  the  ministers  come  more  fraternally  together, 


tlt>  MEMOIES   OF   CHARLES   G. 

and  take  a  united  stand  before  the  people,  to  promote  the 
work.  The  people  generally  did  not  sympathize  with  Dr. 
Hawes'  strong  views,  in  regard  to  the  orthodoxy  of  Dr, 
Bnshnell.  Being  informed  of  this,  I  had  a  fraternal  conver 
sation  with  Dr.  Hawes  and  told  him  that  he  was  in  a  false 
position,  and  that  the  people  felt  tried  with  his  laying  st 
great  stress  upon  what  he  called  the  errors  of  Dr.  Bushnell, 
And  that  they  very  generally,  I  believed,  did  not  justify  him 
in  the  position  that  he  occupied.  Dr.  Hawes  was  a  good 
man,  and  manifestly  felt  his  responsibility  in  this  matter 
rery  dee}  9. 

One  evening  I  had  been  preaching,  I  think,  for  Brothei 
Patton,  and  t.he  three  congregational  ministers  were  present. 
After  meeting  they  followed  me  to  my  lodgings,  and  Dr. 
Hawes  said,  "  Brother  Finney,  we  are  satisfied  that  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  poured  out  here  ;  and  no^  «rhat  can 
we  as  ministers  do  to  promote  this  work  ?  "  1  told  them 
freely  what  1  thought ;  that  a  great  responsibility  rested 
upon  them,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  it  was  for  them  to  say, 
whether  the  work  should  become  general  throughout  the 
city  or  not ;  that  if  they  could  reconcile  their  differences,  and 
come  out  before  the  churches,  and  be  united  and  take  hold 
of  the  work,  a  great  obstacle  would  be  removed  ;  and  that  I 
thought  we  might  expect  the  work  to  spread  rapidly  on  every 
hand.  They  saw  their  position  ;  Dr.  Hawes  and  Dr.  Bush 
nell  came  to  an  understanding  to  lay  aside  their  difficulties, 
and  go  on  and  promote  the  work.  I  should  say  here,  that  I 
believe  Brother  Patton  had  never  sympathized  with  the  strong 
views  held  by  Dr.  Hawes ;  and  I  should  also  say,  that  Di 
Bushnell  himself  did  not  seem  to  have  any  controversy  witJi 
Dr.  Hawes ;  and  the  obstacle  to  be  removed  from  before  the 
public  seemed  to  be,  mostly,  ir  the  unwillingness  of  Dr. 
Hawes,  cordially  to  co-operate  with  the  other  ministers,  in 
the  work. 

Dr.  Hawee  was  too  good  a  man  to  persist  in  anything 
that  would  p-f.vent  his  doing  whatever  he  could  consistently 


LABOB8  IS   HARTFOED.  417 

do,  to  promote  the  work.  Therefore  from  that  time  we 
seemed  to  work  together,  with  a  good  measure  of  cordiality. 
The  work  spread  into  all  the  congregations,  and  went  an 
very  hopefully,  for  a  number  of  weeks.  But  there  was  one 
peculiarity  about  that  work  that  I  have  never  forgotten.  I 
believe  every  Sabbath  that  I  was  in  that  city,  it  stormed 
furiously.  Such  a  succession  of  stormy  Sabbaths  I  almost 
never  witnessed.  However,  our  meetings  were  fully  attended  ; 
and  for  a  place  like  Hartford  the  work  became  powerful  and 
extensive. 

Those  who  are  acquainted  with  Hartford  know  how  fas 
tidious  and  precise  the  people  are  in  regard  to  all  they  do. 
They  were  afraid  of  any  measures  other  than  prayer-meetings, 
and  preaching  meetings,  and  meetings  for  inquiry.  In  other 
words  it  was  out  of  the  question  to  call  on  sinners  to  come 
forward,  and  break  away  from  the  fear  of  man,  and  give 
themselves  publicly  to  God.  Dr.  Hawes  was  especially  very 
much  afraid  of  any  such  measures.  Consequently  I  could  do 
no  such  thing  there.  Indeed,  Dr.  Hawes  was  so  much  afraid 
of  measures,  that  I  recollect,  one  night,  in  attending  a  meet 
ing  of  inquiry  in  his  vestry,  the  number  of  inquirers  present 
was  large  ;  and  at  the  close  I  called  on  those  that  were  willing 
to  give  themselves  up  to  God,  to  kneel  down.  This  startled 
Dr.  Hawes  ;  and  he  remarked  before  they  knelt  down  that 
none  were  requested  to  do  so  unless  they  did  it  cheerfully, 
of  their  own  accord.  They  did  kneel  down,  and  we  prayed 
with  them.  Dr.  Hawes  remarked  to  me,  as  the  inquirers 
rose  and  were  dismissed  :  "  I  have  always  felt  the  necessity 
of  some  such  measure,  but  have  been  afraid  to  use  it  I 
have  always  seen/'  said  he,  "that  something  was  needed  to 
bring  persons  to  a  stand,  and  to  induce  them  to  act  on  their 
present  convictions  ;  but  I  have  not  had  courage  to  propose 
anything  of  the  kind. "  I  said  to  him  that  I  had  found  some 
such  measure  indispensable,  to  bring  sinners  to  the  point  of 
submission. 

In  this  revival  there  was  a  great  deal  of  praying.  The 
18* 


418  MEMOIBS   OF   CHABLES   G.    FltftfEY. 

foung  converts  especially,  gave  themselves  to  very  muci 
prayer.  One  evening,  as  I  learned,  one  of  the  young  con 
certs  after  the  evening  services,  invited  another  to  go  home 
with  him,  and  they  would  hold  a  season  of  prayer  together. 
The  Lord  was  with  them,  and  the  next  evening  they  invited 
others,  and  the  next  evening  more  still,  until  the  meeting 
became  so  large  that  they  were  obliged  to  divide  it.  These 
meetings  were  held  after  the  preaching  service.  The  second 
meeting  soon  became  too  large  for  the  room,  and  that  again 
was  divided.  And  I  understood  that  these  meetings  multi 
plied,  until  the  young  converts  were  almost  universally  in 
the  habit  of  holding  meetings  for  prayer,  in  different  pl&ces, 
after  the  preaching  service.  Finally  to  these  meetings  they 
invited  inquirers,  and  such  as  wished  to  be  prayed  for. 
This  led  to  quite  an  organized  effort,  among  the  converts,  for 
the  salvation  of  souls. 

A  very  interesting  state  of  things  sprung  up  at  this  time 
in  the  public  schools.  As  I  was  informed,  ministers  had 
agreed  that  they  would  not  visit  the  public  schools,  and  make 
any  religious  efforts  there,  because  it  excited  jealousy  on  the 
part  of  different  denominations.  One  morning  a  large  num 
ber  of  lads,  as  I  was  told,  when  they  came  together,  were  so 
affected  that  they  could  not  study,  and  asked  their  teacher 
to  pray  for  them.  He  was  not  a  professor  of  religion,  and 
sent  for  one  of  the  pastors,  informing  him  of  the  state  of 
things,  and  requesting  him  to  come  and  hold  some  religious 
service  with  them.  But  he  declined,  saying  that  there  was 
an  understanding  among  the  pastors  that  they  would  not  go 
to  the  public  schools,  to  hold  any  religious  services.  He  sent 
for  another,  and  another,  as  I  was  informed  ;  but  they  told 
him  he  must  pray  for  the  scholars  himself.  This  brought  a 
severe  pressure  upon  him.  But  it  resulted,  I  believe,  in  his 
giving  his  own  heart  to  God,  and  in  his  taking  measures  for 
the  conversion  of  the  school.  I  understood  there  was  a 
goodly  number  of  the  scholars,  in  the  various  commoa 
§chools,  that  were  converted  at  that  time. 


LABORS  IN   HARTFORU.  4lfc 

Every  one  acquainted  with  the  city  of  Hartford  knows 
that  its  inhabitants  are  a  very  intelligent  people,  that  all 
classes  are  educated,  and  that  there  is,  perhaps,  no  city  in 
the  world  where  education  of  so  high  an  order  is  so  general 
as  it  is  in  Hartford.  When  the  converts  came  to  be  received, 
some  six  hundred,  I  believe,  united  with  their  churches. 
Dr.  Hawes  said  to  me  before  I  left,  "  What  shall  we  do  with 
these  young  converts  ?  If  we  should  form  them  into  a 
church  by  themselves,  they  would  make  admirable  workers 
for  the  salvation  of  souls.  If,  however,  we  receive  them  to 
our  churches,  where  we  have  so  many  elderly  men  and  women, 
who  are  always  expected  to  take  the  lead  in  everything,  their 
modesty  will  make  them  fall  ik  behind  these  staid  Christian 
men  and  women ;  and  they  will  live  as  they  have  lived,  and 
be  inefficient  as  they  have  been  "  However,  as  I  understood, 
the  young  converts,  of  both  sexes,  formed  themselves  into  a 
kind  of  city  missionary  society,  and  organized  for  the  pur 
pose  of  making  direct  efforts  to  convert  souls  throughout  the 
city.  Such  efforts  as  this,  for  instance,  were  made  by  num 
bers  of  them.  One  of  the  principal  young  ladies,  perhaps 
as  well-known  and  as  much  respected  as  any  lady  in  the  city, 
undertook  to  reclaim,  and  if  possible  save,  a  class  of  young 
men  who  belonged  to  prominent  and  wealthy  families,  but 
had  fallen  into  bad  habits,  and  into  moral  decay,  and  had 
lost  the  respect  of  the  people. 

The  position  and  character  of  this  young  lady  rendered 
it  possible  and  proper  for  her  to  make  such  an  effort,  without 
creating  a  suspicion  of  any  impropriety  on  her  part.  She 
sought  an  opportunity  to  converse  with  this  class  of  young 
aien  ;  and,  as  I  understood,  brought  them  together  for 
religious  conversation  and  prayer,  and  was  very  successful 
in  reclaiming  numbers  of  them.  If  I  have  been  rightly 
informed,  the  converts  of  that  revival  were  a  great  power  in 
that  city  for  good ;  and  many  of  them  remain  there  still, 
and  are  very  active  in  promoting  religion. 

Mrs,  Finney  established  prayer-meetings  for  ladies,  which 


KEMOIR8   OF    GHAKLEb    (->.     PIITNKI, 

were  held  in  the  vestry  of  the  churches.  These  meetings 
were  largely  attended,  and  became  very  interesting.  The 
ladies  were  entirely  united,  and  very  much  in  earnest,  and 
became  a  principal  power,  under  God,  in  promoting  his  work 
there. 

We  left  there  about  the  first  of  April,  and  went  to  the 
iity  of  New  York  on  our  way  home.  There  I  preached  a  few 
times  for  Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  in  Brooklyn  ;  and  there 
was  a  growing  and  deepening  religious  influence  among  the 
people,  when  I  arrived,  and  when  I  left.  But  I  preached  but 
a  few  times,  because  my  health  gave  way,  and  I  was  obliged 
to  desist.  We  came  home,  and  went  on  with  our  labors  here 
as  usual,  with  the  almost  uniform  result  of  a  great  degree 
of  religious  influence  among  our  students,  and  extending 
more  or  less  generally  to  the  inhabitants. 

The  next  winter  we  left  Oberlin  at  the  usual  season, 
and  started  East  to  occupy  a  field  of  labor  to  which 
we  had  been  invited.  While  we  were  in  Hartford,  the  pre 
vious  winter,  we  had  a  very  pressing  invitation  to  go  to  the 
city  of  Syracuse  to  labor.  The  minister  of  the  Congrega 
tional  church  came  down  to  Hartford,  to  persuade  me,  if 
possible,  to  return  with  him.  I  could  not  see  it  my  duty  to 
go  at  that  time,  and  thought  no  more  about  it.  But  on  our 
way  East  at  this  time,  we  met  this  minister  at  Rochester.  He 
was  not  then  the  pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  in  the 
city  of  Syracuse.  But  he  felt  so  much  interest  for  them, 
that  he  finally  induced  me  to  promise  him  that  I  would  stop 
there,  and  spend  at  least  one  Sabbath.  We  did  so,  and 
found  the  little  church  very  much  discouraged.  Their 
number  was  small.  The  church  was  mostly  composed  of 
persons  of  very  radical  views,  in  regard  to  all  the  great  ques 
tions  of  reform.  The  Presbyterian  churches,  and  the  other 
ohuiches  generally,  did  not  sympathize  at  all  with  them,  and 
it  seemed  as  if  the  Congregational  church  must  become 
extinct. 

I  preached  one  Sabbath,  and  learned  so  much  about  the 


ULBOKS   IK   SYRACUSE.  481 

state  of  things  as  to  be  induced  to  remain  another  Sabbath. 
Soon  I  began  to  perceive  a  movement  among  the  dry  bones. 
Some  of  the  leading  members  of  the  Congregational  church 
began  to  make  confession  to  each  other,  and  public  confes 
sion  of  their  wanderings  from  God,  and  of  other  things  that 
lad  created  prejudice  against  them  in  the  city.  This  con 
ciliated  the  people  around  them,  and  they  began  to  come  in, 
und  soon  their  house  of  worship  was  too  narrow  to  hold  the 
people  ;  and  although  I  had  not  expected  to  stay  more  than 
one  Sabbath,  I  could  not  see  my  way  clear  to  leave,  and  I 
kept  on  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath.  The  interest  continued 
to  increase  and  to  spread.  The  Lord  removed  the  obstacles, 
und  brought  Christian  people  nearer  together. 

The  Presbyterian  churches  were  thrown  open  to  our 
meetings,  and  conversions  were  multiplied  on  every  side 
However,  as  in  some  other  cases,  I  directed  my  preaching 
very  much  to  the  Christian  people.  There  had  been  very 
little  sympathy  existing  between  them ;  and  a  great  work 
was  needed  among  professors  of  religion,  before  the  way  could 
be  prepared  outside  of  the  churches.  Thus  I  continued  to 
labor  in  the  different  churches,  until  the  Second  Presbyterian 
church  was  left  without  a  pastor ;  after  which  we  concen 
trated  our  meetings  there  in  a  great  measure,  and  held  ou 
throughout  the  winter. 

Here  again  Mrs.  Finney  established  her  ladies'  meetings 
with  great  success.  She  generally  held  them  in  the  lecture 
room  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church,  I  think;  a  commodi 
ous  and  convenient  room  for  such  meetings.  A  great  many 
very  interesting  facts  occurred  in  her  meetings  that  winter. 
Christians  of  different  denominations  seemed  to  flow  together, 
after  awhile,  and  all  the  difficulties  that  had  existed  among 
them  seemed  to  be  done  away.  The  Presbyterian  and  the 
Congregational  churches  were  all  without  pastors  while  I 
was  there,  and  hence  none  of  them  opened  their  doors  to 
receive  the  converts.  I  was  very  willing  that  this  should  be 
so,  as  I  knew  that  there  was  great  danger,  if  they  began  fcc 


*22  VtEMOIHS   OF    CHARLES    ft.     W1NNKY 

receive  the  converts,  that  jealousies  would  spring  up  ana 
mar  the  work. 

As  we  were  about  to  leave  in  the  spring,  I  gave  out 
notice  from  the  pulpit,  on  my  own  responsibility,  that  on 
the  next  Sabbath  we  should  hold  a  communion  service,  to 
which  all  Christiams,  who  truly  loved  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  gave  evidence  of  it  in  their  lives,  were  invited.  That 
was  one  of  the  most  interesting  communion  seasons  I  ever 
witnessed.  The  church  was  filled  with  communicants. 
Two  very  aged  ministers,  Fathers  Waldo  and  Brainard, 
attended  and  helped  at  the  communion  service.  There  was 
a  great  melting  in  the  congregation  ;  and  a  more  loving  and 
joyful  communion  of  the  people  of  God,  I  think  I  never  saw 
anywhere. 

After  I  left,  the  churches  all  secured  pastors.  I  have 
been  informed  that  that  revival  resulted  in  great  and  per 
manent  good.  The  Congregational  church  built  them  a 
larger  house  of  worship  ;  and  have  been,  I  believe,  ever  since 
a  healthy  church  and  congregation.  The  Presbyterian 
churches,  and  I  believe  the  Baptist  churches,  were  much 
strengthened  in  faith  and  increased  in  numbers. 

The  work  was  very  deep  there  among  a  great  many  pio- 
fessors  of  religion.  One  very  striking  fact  occurred  which  ) 

will  mention.  There  was  a  lady  by  the  name  of  C ,  the 

Christian  wife  of  an  unconverted  husband.  She  was  a  lady 
of  great  refinement,  and  beauty  of  character  and  person. 
Her  husband  was  a  merchant,  a  man  of  good  moral  charac 
ter.  She  attended  our  meetings,  and  became  very  much 
convicted  for  a  deeper  work  of  grace  in  her  soul.  She  called 
on  me  one  day,  in  a  state  of  very  anxious  inquiry.  I  had  a 
few  moments'  conversation  with  her,  and  directed  her  atten 
tion  especiaDy  to  the  necessity  of  a  thorough  and  universal 
consecration  of  herself  and  of  her  all  to  Christ.  I  told  her 
that  when  she  had  done  this,  she  must  believe  for  the  sealing 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  She  had  heard  the  doctrine  of  sanetifi- 
oation  preached,  and  it  had  greatly  interested  her  :  and  her 


LABOBS   IJS   8TBAOU8B. 

inquiry  was  how  she  should  obtain  it.  I  gaye  her  the  brief 
direction  which  I  have  mentioned,  and  she  got  up  hastily 
and  left  me.  Such  a  pressure  was  upon  her  mind,  that  she 
seemed  in  haste  to  lay  hold  of  the  fulness  there  was  in 
Christ.  I  do  not  think  she  was  in  my  room  more  than  five 
or  ten  minutes,  and  she  left  me  like  a  person  who  has  some 
pressing  business  on  hand.  In  the  afternoon  she  returned  as 
lull  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  all  human  appearance,  as  she 
could  be.  She  said  she  hurried  home  from  my  room  in  the 
morning,  and  went  immediately  to  her  chamber,  and  cast 
herself  down  before  God,  and  made  a  thorough  consecration 
of  herself  and  of  her  all  to  him.  She  said  she  had  clearer 
apprehensions  by  far  of  what  was  meant  by  that,  than  she 
had  ever  had  before  ;  and  she  made  a  full  and  complete  res 
ignation  of  herself  and  everything  into  the  hands  of  Christ. 
Her  mind  became  at  once  entirely  calm,  acd  she  felt  that 
she  began  to  receive  of  the  fulness  of  the  Holy  Spirit  In  a 
very  short  time  she  seemeo  to  be  lifted  up  above  herself,  and 
her  joy  was  so  great  that,  she  could  hardly  refrain  from 
shouting. 

I  had  some  conversation  with  her,  and  saw  that  ahe  was 
in  danger  of  being  over  excited.  I  said  as  much  as  I  dared 
to  say,  to  put  her  on  her  guard  against  this,  and  she  went 
^ome. 

A  few  days  afterwards  her  husband  called  on  me  one 
morning  with  his  sleigh,  and  asked  me  to  take  a  ride  with 
him.  I  did  so,  and  found  that  his  object  was  to  talk  with 
me  about  his  wife.  He  said  that  she  was  brought  up  among 
the  Friends,  and  when  he  married  her,  he  thought  she  was 
one  of  the  most  perfect  women  that  he  ever  knew.  But 
finally,  he  said,  she  became  converted,  and  then  he  observed 
a  greater  change  in  her  than  he  thought  was  possible  ;  foi 
he  thought  her  as  perfectly  moral  in  her  outward  life  before 
as  she  could  be.  Nevertheless,  the  change  in  her  spirit  and 
bearing,  at  the  time  of  her  conversion,  was  so  manifest,  he 
wid,  thai  no  one  could  doubt  it  "  Since  then,"  he  said. 


4*4  MEMOIBS  OF  CHARLES  9.    PINTO!!. 

"  I  have  thought  her  almost  or  quite  perfect  But,"  said 
he,  "now  she  has  manifestly  passed  through  a  greatei 
change  than  ever.  I  see  it  in  everything,"  said  he.  "  There 
is  such  a  spirit  in  her,  such  a  change,  such  an  energy  in  her 
religion,  and  such  a  fulness  of  joy  and  peace  and  love  ! " 
He  inquired,  "  What  shall  I  make  of  it  ?  How  am  I  to 
understand  this  ?  Do  such  changes  really  take  place  in 
Christian  people  ?" 

I  explained  it  to  him  as  best  I  could.  I  tried  to  make 
him  understand  what  she  was  by  her  education  as  a  Quaker, 
and  what  her  conversion  had  done  for  her  ;  and  then  told 
him  that  this  was  a  fresh  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  that 
had  so  greatly  changed  her  at  that  time.  She  has  since 
passed  away  to  heaven  ;  but  the  savor  )i  that  anointing  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  remained  with  her,  as  I  have  been  informed, 
to  the  day  of  her  death. 

There  is  one  circumstance  that  I  have  often  heard  Mrs. 
Finney  relate,  that  occurred  in  her  meetings,  that  is  worth 
notice  here.  Her  ladies'  meetings  were  composed  of  the 
more  intelligent  ladies  in  the  different  churches.  Many  of 
them  were  probably  fastidious.  But  there  was  an  elderly 
and  uneducated  old  woman  that  attended  their  meetings, 
and  that  used  to  speak,  sometimes,  apparently  to  the  annoy 
ance  of  the  ladies.  Somehow  she  had  the  impression  that  it 
was  her  duty  to  speak  at  every  meeting ;  and  sometimes  she 
would  get  up  and  complain  of  the  Lord,  that  he  laid  it  upon 
her  to  speak  in  meeting,  while  so  many  ladies  of  education 
were  allowed  to  attend  and  take  no  part  She  wondered 
why  it  was  that  God  made  it  her  duty  to  speak  ;  while  these 
fine  ladies,  who  could  speak  so  much  to  edification,  were 
allowed  to  attend  and  "  have  no  cross,"  as  she  expressed  it, 
"tc  take  up.'  She  seemed  always  to  speak  in  a  whining 
and  complaining  manner.  The  part  that  she  felt  it  her  duty 
to  take  in  every  meeting,  a  good  deal  annoyed  and  discour 
aged  my  wife.  She  saw  that  it  did  not  interest  the  ladies 
and  it  seemed  to  her  rather  an  element  of  disturbance. 


LABORS   Of    SYRACUSE.  426 

But  after  things  had  gone  on  in  this  way  for  some  time, 
one  day  this  same  old  woman  arose  in  meeting,  and  a  new 
spirit  was  upon  her.  As  soon  as  she  opened  her  mouth 
it  was  apparent  to  every  body  that  a  great  change  had  come 
over  her.  She  had  come  to  the  meeting  full  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  she  poured  out  her  fresh  experience,  to  the  aston 
ishment  of  all.  The  ladies  were  greatly  interested  in  what 
the  old  woman  said  ;  and  she  went  forward  with  an  earii  .at 
ness  in  relating  what  the  Lord  had  done  for  her,  that  carried 
conviction  to  every  mind.  All  turned  and  leaned  toward 
her,  to  hear  every  word  that  she  said,  the  tears  began  to 
flow,  and  a  great  movement  of  the  Spirit  seemed  to  be  visi 
ble  at  once  throughout  toe  meeting.  ?'ach  a  remarkable 
change  wrought  immense  good,  aiid  the  old  woman  became 
a  favorite.  After  that  th^  expected  to  hear  from  her  ;  and 
were  greatly  delighted  1-  in  meeting  to  meeting  to  hear 
her  tell  what  the  Lord  had  done,  and  was  doing  for  her 
soul. 

I  found  in  Syracuse  a  Christian  woman  whom  they  called 
"  Mother  Austin,"  a  woman  of  most  remarkable  faith.  She 
was  poor,  and  entirely  dependent  upon  the  charity  of  the 
people  for  subsistence.  She  was  an  uneducated  woman,  and 
had  been  brought  up  manifestly  in  a  family  of  very  little 
cultivation.  But  she  had  such  faith  as  to  secure  the  confi 
dence  of  all  who  knew  her.  The  conviction  seemed  to  be 
universal  among  both  Christians  and  unbelievers,  that 
mother  Austin  was  a  saint.  I  do  not  think  I  ever  witnessed 
greater  faith  in  its  simplicity  than  was  manifested  by  that 
woman.  A  great  many  facts  were  related  to  me  respecting 
her,  that  showed  her  trust  in  God,  and  in  what  a  remarkable 
manner  God  provided  for  her  wants  from  day  to  day.  She 
said  to  me  01.  >;ae  occasion,  "  Brother  Finney,  it  is  impos 
sible  for  me  to  suffer  for  any  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  be 
cause  God  has  said  to  me,  t  Trust  in  the  Lord  and  do  good  : 
so  shalt  thou  dwell  in  the  land,  and  verily  thou  shalt  be 
fed.' J'  She  related  to  me  many  facts  in  her  history,  and 


496  MEMO  IBS   OF   CHARLES   G. 

many  facts  were  related  to  me  by  others,  illustrative  oi  the 
power  of  her  faith. 

She  said,  one  Saturday  evening  a  friend  of  hers,  but  an 
impenitent  man,  called  to  see  her ;  and  after  conversing 
awhile  Jie  offered  her,  as  he  went  away,  a  five  dollar  biH 
She  said  that  she  felt  an  inward  admonition  not  to  take  it 
She  felt  that  it  would  be  an  act  of  self -righteousness  on  the 
part  of  that  man,  and  might  do  him  more  harm  than  it 
would  do  her  good.  She  therefore  declined  to  take  it, 
and  he  went  away.  She  said  she  had  just  wood  and  food 
enough  in  the  house  to  last  over  the  Sabbath,  and  that  was 
all ;  and  she  had  no  means  whatever  of  obtaining  any  more. 
But  still  she  was  not  at  all  afraid  to  trust  God,  in  such  cir 
cumstances,  as  she  had  done  for  so  many  years. 

On  the  Sabbath-day  there  came  a  violent  mow-storm. 
On  Monday  morning  the  snow  was  several  feet  deep,  and 
the  streets  were  blocked  up  so  that  there  was  no  getting  out 
without  clefcHng  the  way  She  had  a  young  son  that  lived 
with  her,  tne  two  composing  the  whole  tamily.  They 
arose  in  the  morning  and  found  themselves  snowed  in,  on 
every  side.  They  made  out  to  muster  fuel  enough  for  a 
little  fire,  and  soon  the  boy  began  to  inquire  what  they 
should  have  for  breakfast  She  said,  "  I  do  not  know,  my 
son ;  but  the  Lord  will  pro  Tide."  She  looked  out,  and 
nobody  could  pass  the  streets.  The  lad  began  to  weep 
bitterly,  and  concluded  that  they  should  freeze  and  starve 
to  death.  However,  she  said  she  went  on  and  made  such 
preparations  as  she  could,  to  provide  for  breakfast,  if  any 
should  come.  I  think  she  said  she  set  her  table,  and  made 
arrangements  for  her  breakfast,  believing  that  some  would 
come  in  due  season.  Very  soon  she  heard  a  loud  talking  in 
the  streets,  and  went  to  the  window  to  see  what  it  was,  and 
beheld  a  man  in  a  single  sleigh,  and  some  men  with  nils 
shoveling  the  snow  so  that  the  horse  could  get  through. 
Up  they  came  to  her  door,  and  behold  !  they  had  brought 
her  a  plenty  of  fuel  and  provision,  everything  to  make  her 


LABORS   IN    SYRACUSE.  427 

comfortable  for  several  days.  But  time  would  fail  me  to 
tell  the  instances  in  which  she  was  helped  in  a  manner  as 
striking  as  this.  Indeed,  it  was  notorious  through  the  city, 
so  far  as  I  could  learn,  that  Mother  Austin's  faith  was  like 
a  bank  ;  and  that  she  never  suffered  for  want  of  tua  neces 
saries  of  life,  because  she  drew  on  God. 

I  never  knew  the  number  of  converts  at  thai  time  in 
Syrvcuje.  Indeed  I  was  rever  in  the  habit  of  ascertaining 
tke  number  of  hopeiul  COB  •eft*. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

LABOB8   IK   WESTERN   AKD   IK   BOMS,  1864-6. 

ri  iHE  next  winter,  at  Christmas  time,  we  went  again  ti 
JL  Western,  Oneida  county  where  as  I  have  already  re 
lated,  I  commenced  my  labors  m  the  autumn  of  1825.  The 
people  were  at  this  time  again  without  a  minister  ;  and  we 
spent  several  weeks  there  in  very  inter *^iing  labor,  and  with 
very  marked  results. 

Among  the  striking  things  that  occurred  in  the  revival 
thii  time,  I  will  mention  the  case  of  one  young  man. 
He  was  the  son  of  pious  parents,  and  had  long  been  made 
the  subject  of  prayer.  His  parents  were  prominent  members 
of  the  church.  Indeed,  his  father  was  one  of  the  elders  of 
the  church ;  and  his  mother  was  a  godly,  praying  woman. 
When  I  commenced  my  labors  there,  to  the  great  surprise 
and  grief  of  his  parents,  and  of  the  Christian  people  gener 
ally,  he  became  exceedingly  bitter  against  the  preaching,  and 
the  meetings  gererally,  and  all  that  was  done  for  the  promo 
tion  of  the  revival.  He  committed  himself  with  all  the 
strength  of  his  will  against  it ;  and  affirmed,  as  I  was  told, 
that  "  neither  Finney  nor  hell  could  convert  him."  He  said 
many  very  hateful  and  profane  things,  until  his  parents 
were  deeply  grieved  ;  but  I  am  not  aware  that  he  had  ever 
been  suspected  of  any  outward  immorality. 

But  the  word  of  God  pressed  him  from  day  to  day,  t  he 
could  stand  it  no  longer.  He  came  one  morning  to  my  room. 
His  appearance  was  truly  startling.  I  cannot  describe  it. 
I  seldom  ever  saw  a  person  whose  mind  had  made  such  an 
impression  upon  his  countenance.  He  appeared  to  be  almost 
insane  ;  and  he  trembled  in  such  a  manner  that  when  he  was 


LABORS   IS    WteBTJBKJS.  4#9 

seated,  the  furniture  of  the  room  was  sensibly  jarred  by  hie 
trembling.  I  observed,  when  1  took  his  hand,  that  it  was 
very  cold.  lids  lips  were  blue  ;  and  his  whole  appearance 
was  quite  alarming.  The  fact  is,  he  had  stood  out  against 
his  convictions  as  long  as  he  could  endure  it.  When  he  sal 
town,  I  said  to  him,  "  My  dear  young  man,  what  is  the  mat 
ter  with  you?"  "0,"  said  he,  "I  have  committed  the 
unpardonable  sin."  I  replied,  "  What  makes  you  say  so  ?" 
"0,"  said  he,  "I  know  that  I  have;  and  I  did  it  on 
purpose." 

He  then  related  this  fact  of  himself.  Said  he,  "Several 
years  ago  a  book  was  put  into  my  hands  called,  '  The  pirate's 
own  book.'  I  read  it,  and  it  produced  a  most  extraordinary 
effect  upon  my  mind.  "! '»  inspired  me  with  a  kind  of  terri 
ble  and  infernal  ambition  to  be  the  greatest  pirate  that  eve^ 
lived.  I  made  up  my  mind  to  be  at  the  head  of  all  the  high 
way  robbers,  and  bandits,  and  pirates  whose  history  was  ever 
written.  But," said  he,  "my  religious  education  was  in  my 
way.  The  teaching  and  prayers  of  my  parents  seemed  to 
rise  up  before  me,  so  that  I  could  not  go  forward.  But  I 
had  heard  that  it  was  possible  to  grieve  the  Spirit  of  God 
away,  and  to  quench  his  influence  so  that  one  would  feel  it 
no  more.  I  had  read  also  that  it  was  possible  to  sear  my 
conscience,  so  that  that  would  not  trouble  me  ;  and  after  my 
resolution  was  taken,  my  first  business  was  to  get  rid  of  my 
religious  convictions,  so  as  to  be  able  to  go  on  and  perpetrate 
all  manner  of  robberies  and  murders,  without  any  compunc 
tion  of  conscience.  I  therefore  set  myself  deliberately  to 
blaspheme  the  Holy  Ghost. "  He  then  told  me  in  what  man 
ner  he  did  this,  and  what  he  said  to  the  Holy  Gho«t  j  *rat  it 
w&s  too  blasphemous  to  repeat. 

He  continued  :  "I  then  felt  that  it  must  be  ttat  the 
Spirit  of  God  would  leave  me,  and  that  my  conscience  would 
no  more  trouble  me.  After  a  little  while  I  made  up  my 
mind  that  I  would  commit  some  crime,  and  see  how  it  would 
affect  me.  There  was  a  school -house  across  the  way  from 


480  MEMOIRS    OF   CHARLES   G.    FIJTKBY. 

our  house ;  and  one  evening  I  went  and  set  it  on  fire.  1 
then  went  to  my  room,  and  to  bed.  Soon,  however,  the  fire 
was  discovered.  I  arose,  and  mingled  with  the  crowd  that 
gathered  to  put  it  out ;  but  all  efforts  were  in  vain,  and  it 
burnt  to  the  ground."  To  burn  a  building  in  that  way,  was 
a  state-prison  offence.  He  was  aware  of  this.  I  asked  him 
if  he  had  gone  farther  m  the  commission  of  crime.  He 
replied,  "  No."  And  I  think  he  added,  that  he  did  not  iind 
his  conscience  at  rest  about  it,  as  he  had  expected.  I  asked 
him  if  he  had  e^er  been  suspected  ->f  having  burnt  it.  He 
replied  that  he  did  not  know  that  he  had ;  but  that  other 
young  men  had  been  suspected,  and  talked  about.  1  asked 
him  what  he  proposed  to  do  about  it.  He  replied  that  he 
was  going  to  the  trustees  to  confess  it  ;  and  he  asKed  me  if 
I  would  not  accompany  him. 

I  went  with  him  to  one  of  the  trustees,  who  lived  near  ; 
and  the  young  man  asked  me  if  I  would  not  tell  him  the 
facts.  I  did  so.  The  trustee  was  a  good  man,  and  a  great 
friend  of  the  parents  of  this  young  man.  The  announce 
ment  affected  him  deeply.  The  young  man  stood  speechless 
before  him.  After  conversing  with  the  trustee  for  a  little 
while,  I  said,  "  We  will  go  and  see  the  other  trustees."  The 
gentleman  replied,  "  No,  you  need  not  go  ;  I  will  see  them 
myself,  and  tell  them  the  whole  story."  He  assured  the 
young  man  that  he  himself  would  freely  forgive  him  ;  and 
he  presumed  that  the  other  trustees,  and  the  people  in  the 
town,  would  forgive  him,  and  not  subject  him  or  his  parents 
to  any  expense  about  it. 

I  then  returned  to  my  room,  and  the  young  man  wont 
home.  Still  he  was  not  at  rest.  As  I  was  going  to  meeting 
in  the  evening,  he  met  me  at  the  door  and  said,  "  I  m^st 
make  a  public  confession.  Several  young  men  have  been 
suspected  of  this  thing  ;  and  I  want  the  people  to  knotf  that 
I  did  it,  and  that  I  ha  no  accomplice,  that  nobody  but  God 
and  myself  knew  it."  And  he  added  :  "Mr.  Finney,  won't 
yon  tell  the  people  ?  I  will  be  present,  and  say  anything 


LAJJORS  IS   WB8TBBK.  43, 

that  may  be  necessary  to  say, if  anybody  should  ask  any  ques 
tions  ;  but  I  do  not  feel  as  if  I  could  open  my  mouth.  Yon 
can  tell  them  all  about  it." 

When  the  people  were  assembled,  I  arose  and  related  to 
them  the  facts.  The  family  was  so  well  known,  and  so  much 
beloved  in  the  community,  that  the  statement  made  a  great 
impression.  The  people  sobbed  and  wept  all  over  the  con 
gregation.  After  he  had  made  this  full  confession  he 
obtained  peace.  Of  his  religious  history  since  I  know  not 
much.  I  have  recently  learned,  however,  that  he  retained 
his  hold  upon  Christ,  and  did  not  seem  to  backslide.  He 
went  into  tht>  army  during  the  rebellion,  and  was  slain  at  the 
b-^tle  of  Fort  Fisher. 

In  giving  my  narrative  of  rivals  thus  far,  I  have  passed 
over  a  great  number  of  cases  o  rime,  committed  by  persons 
who  came  to  me  for  advice,  and  cold  me  the  facts.  In  many 
instances  in  these  revivals,  restitution,  sometimes  to  the 
amount  of  many  thousaiids  of  dollars,  was  made  by  those 
whose  consciences  troubled  them,  either  because  they  had 
obtained  the  money  directly  by  fraud,  or  by  some  selfish 
over-reaching  in  their  business  relations. 

The  winter  that  1  first  spent  in  Boston,  resulted  in  mak 
ing  a  great  many  such  revelations.  I  had  preached  there 
one  Sabbath  in  the  morning  upon  this  text :  "  Whoso 
covereth  his  sins  shall  not  prosper  ; "  and  in  the  afternoon 
on  the  remainder  of  the  verse  :  "  But  whoso  coufesseth  and 
forsake th  them,  shall  find  mercy."  I  recollect  that  the  re 
sults  of  those  two  sermons  were  most  extraordiTt&ry.  For 
weeks  afterwards,  persons  of  almost  all  ages,  ana  of  both 
sexes,  came  to  me  for  spiritual  advice,  disclosing  to  me  the 
fact  that  they  had  committed  various  frauds,  and  sins  of 
almost  every  description.  Some  young  men  had  defrauded 
their  employers  in  business ;  and  some  women  had  stolen 
watches,  and  almost  every  article  of  female  apparel.  Indeed, 
it  seemed  as  if  the  word  of  the  Lord  was  sent  home  with 
power  at  that  time  in  that  city,  as  to  uncover  a  v«rr 


483  MEMOIRS   OF   CHAJSLES   G. 

den  of  wickedness.  It  would  certainly  take  me  hours  tc 
mention  the  crimes  that  came  to  my  personal  knowledge 
through  the  confessions  of  those  that  had  perpetrated  them. 
But  in  every  instance  the  persons  seemed  to  be  thoroughly 
penitent,  and  were  willing  to  make  restitution  to  the  utmost 
of  their  ability. 

But  to  return  from  this  digression,  to  Western.  The 
revival  was  of  a  very  interesting  character  ;  and  there  was  a 
goodly  number  of  souls  born  to  God.  The  conversion  of  one 
young  lady  thcT?  I  remember  with  a  good  deal  of  interest. 
She  was  teaching  the  village  school.  Her  father  was,  I 
believe,  a  sceptic  ;  and  as  I  understood,  she  was  an  only 
daughter,  and  a  great  favorite  with  her  father.  He  was  a 
man,  if  I  was  rightly  informed,  of  considerable  influence  in 
the  town,  but  did  not  at  all  attend  our  meetings.  He  lived 
on  a  farm  away  from  the  village.  Indeed  the  village  is  very 
small,  and  the  inhabitants  are  scattered  through  the  valley 
of  the  Mohawk,  and  over  the  hills  on  each  side  ;  so  that  the 
great  mass  of  inhabitants  have  to  come  a  considerable  dis 
tance  to  meeting. 

I  had  heard  that  this  young  woman  did  not  attend  our 
meetings  much,  and  that  she  manifested  considerable  opposi 
tion  to  the  work.  In  passing  the  school-house  one  day  I 
stepped  in  to  speak  with  her.  At  first  she  appeared  sur 
prised  to  see  me  come  in.  I  had  never  been  introduced  to 
her,  and  should  not  have  known  her,  if  I  had  not  found  her 
in  that  place.  She  knew  me,  however,  and  at  first  appeared 
as  if  she  recoiled  from  my  presence.  I  took  her  very  kindh 
by  the  hand,  and  told  her  that  I  had  dropped  in  to  speak 
with  her  about  her  soul.  "My  child,"  I  said,  "how  is  it 
with  you  ?  Have  you  given  your  heart  to  God  ?"  Tisi*  I 
said  while  I  held  her  hand.  Her  head  fell,  and  she  made 
no  effort  to  withdraw  ^er  hand.  I  saw  in  a  moment  that  a 
subduing  influence  cai&ta  over  her,  and  so  deep  and  remarka 
ble  an  influence,  that  1  felt  almost  assured  that  she  would 
sabmit  to  God  right  on  the  spot. 


LABORS   IK   HOME.  433 

The  most  that  I  expected  when  I  went  in,  was  to  have  a 
t'ew  words  with  her  that  I  hoped  might  set  her  to  thinking 
and  to  appoint  a  time  to  converse  with  her  more  at  large. 
But  the  impression  was  at  once  so  manifest,  and  she  seemed 
tx>  break  down  in  her  heart  so  readily,  that  with  a  few  sen 
dees  quietly  and  softly  spoken  to  her,  she  seemed  to  give  up 
icr  opposition,  and  to  be  in  readiness  to  lay  hold  on  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  I  then  asked  her  if  I  should  say  a  few 
vrords  to  the  scholars  ;  and  she  said,  yes,  she  wished  I  would. 
I  did  so,  and  then  asked  her  if  I  should  present  herself  and 
her  scholars  to  God  in  prayer.  She  said  she  wished  I  would, 
and  became  very  deeply  affected  in  the  presence  of  the 
school.  We  engaged  in  prayer,  and  it  was  a  very  solemn, 
melting  time.  The  young  lady  from  that  time  seemed  to  be 
subdued,  and  to  have  passed  from  death  unto  life.  She  did 
not  live  long  before  she  passed,  I  trust,  to  heaven. 

These  two  seasons  of  my  being  in  Western  were  about 
thirty  years  apart.  Another  generation  had  come  to  live  in 
that  place  from  that  which  lived  thero  in  the  first  revival  in 
which  I  labored  there.  I  found,  however,  a  few  of  the  old 
members  there.  But  the  congregation  was  mostly  new,  and 
composed  principally  of  younger  people  who  had  grown  up 
after  the  first  revival. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  first  revival,  so  in  this,  the  people 
in  Rome  heard  what  was  passing  in  Western,  and  came  up 
in  considerable  numbers  to  attend  our  meetings.  This 
led  after  a  few  weeks,  to  my  going  down  and  spending  some 
time  in  Rome. 

The  state  of  religion  in  Western  has,  I  believe,  been  very 
much  improved  since  this  last  revival.  The  ordinances  of 
the  Gospel  have  been  maintained,  and  I  believe  considerable 

progress  has  been  made  in  the  right  direction.     The  B s 

have  all  gone  from  Western,  with  the  exception  of  one  son 
and  his  family.  That  large  and  interesting  family  have 
raelted  away  ;  but  one  of  them  being  left  in  Western,  one  IB 
Utica,  and  one  son  who  was  converted  in  the  first  re  viva) 


484  MEMOIB8   OF   CHAKLBS   G. 

there,  and  who  has  for  many  years  been  a  minister,  and 
pastor  of  the  first  Presbyterian  church  in  Watertown. 
New  York. 

When  I  was  at  Rome  the  first  time,  and  for  many  year* 
after,  the  church  was  Congregational.  But  a  few  years 
before  I  was  there  the  last  time,  they  had  settled  a  Presby 
terian  minister,  a  young  man,  and  he  felt  that  the  church 
ought  to  be  Presbyterian  instead  of  Congregational.  He 
proposed  and  recommended  this  to  the  church,  and  suc 
ceeded  in  bringing  it  about ;  but  to  the  great  dissatisfaction 
of  a  large  number  of  influential  persons  in  the  church.  Thia 
created  a  very  undesirable  state  of  things  in  Rome  ;  and 
when  I  arrived  there  from  Western  I  was,  for  the  first  time, 
made  acquainted  with  that  very  serious  division  of  feeling  in 
the  church.  Their  pastor  had  lost  the  confidence  and  affec 
tion  of  a  considerable  number  of  very  influential  members  of 
his  church. 

When  I  learned  the  state  of  things,  I  felt  confident  that 
but  little  could  be  done  to  promote  a  general  revival,  unless 
that  difficulty  could  be  healed.  But  it  had  been  talked  over 
so  much,  and  the  persons  first  concerned  in  it  had  so  com 
mitted  themselves,  that  I  labored  in  vain  to  bring  about  a 
reconciliation.  It  was  not  a  thing  U>  preach  about ;  but  ir 
private  conversation  I  tried  to  pluck  up  that  root  of  bitter 
ness.  I  found  the  parties  did  not  view  the  facts  alike.  I 
kept  preaching,  however ;  and  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  was 
poured  out,  conversions  were  occurring  very  frequently,  and 
I  trust  great  good  was  done. 

But  after  endeavoring  in  vain  to  secure  a  union  of  feel 
ing  and  effort  such  as  God  would  approve,  I  made  up  my 
mind  to  leave  them.  I  have  heard  since  that  some  of  the  dis 
affected  members  of  the  church  went  and  joined  the  church 
in  Western,  leaving  the  church  in  Rome  altogether.  I  pre 
sume  the  pastor  did  what  he  deemed  to  be  his  duty  in  that 
controversy,  but  the  consequent  divisions  were  exceedingly 
painful  to  me,  as  I  felt  a  peculiar  interest  in  that  church. 


CHAPTER   XXXIL 


EBVIVAL   I.K    ROCHESTER  IN 

IN  the  autumn  of  1855,  we  were  called  again  to  the 
of  Rochester  to  labor  for  souls.  At  first  I  had  no  mind 
to  go,  but  a  messenger  arrived  with  a  pressing  request,  bear 
ing  the  signatures  ol  a  large  number  of  persons,  both  pro 
fessors  of  religion  and  non-professors.  After  much  delib 
eration  and  prayer  I  consented.  We  commenced  our  labors 
there,  and  it  was  very  soon  apparent  that  the  Spirit  of  Qod 
was  working  among  the  people.  Some  Christians  in  that 
place,  and  especially  the  brother  who  oame  after  me,  had 
been  praying  most  earnestly  all  summer  for  the  outpouring 
of  the  Spirit  there.  A  few  souls  had  been  wrestling  with  God 
until  they  felt  that  they  were  on  the  eve  of  a  great  revival. 
When  I  stated  my  objections  to  going  to  labor  in  Rochester 
again,  the  brother  who  came  after  me  set  that  all  aside  by  say 
ing,  "  The  Lord  is  going  to  send  you  to  Rochester,  and  you 
will  go  to  Rochester  this  winter,  and  we  shall  have  a  great  re 
vival."  I  made  up  my  mind  with  much  hesitancy  after  all. 
But  when  I  arrived  there,  I  was  soon  convinced  that  it  waa 
of  God.  I  began  preaching  in  the  different  churches.  The 
First  Presbyterian  church  in  that  city  was  Old  School,  and 
they  did  not  open  their  doors  to  our  meeting.  But  the  Con 
gregational  church,  and  the  two  other  Presbyterian  churchea 
with  their  pastors,  took  hold  of  the  work  and  entered  into  it 
with  spirit  and  success.  The  Baptist  churches  also  entered 
into  the  work  at  this  time  ;  and  the  Methodist  churche* 
labored  in  their  own  way,  to  extend  the  work.  We  held 
daily  noon  prayer-meetings,  which  were  largely  attended 
%nd  in  whie^  a  most  excellent  spirit  t>rev*iled. 


486  MEMOIRS   OF   OHARLB8   G. 

Soon  after  I  commenced  my  labors  there,  a  request  wai 
sent  to  me,  signed  by  the  members  of  the  bai  and  several 
judges — two  judges  of  the  court  of  appeals,  and  I  believe 
one  or  two  judges  of  the  supreme  court  who  resided  there — 
asking  me  to  preach  again  a  course  of  lectures  to  lawyers,  OB 
the  moral  government  of  God.  I  complied  with  theii 
request.  I  began  my  course  to  lawyers  this  time  by  preach 
ing  first  on  the  text  :  "  Commending  ourselves  to  everj 
man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of  God."  I  began  by  remark 
ing  that  the  text  assumed  that  every  man  has  a  conscience. 
I  then  gave  a  definition  of  conscience,  and  proceeded  to 
show  what  every  man's  conscience  does  truly  affirm  ;  that 
every  man  knows  himself  to  be  a  sinner  against  God  ;  that 
therefore  he  knows  that  God  must  condemn  him  as  a  sinner  ; 
and  that  every  man  knows  that  his  own  conscience  condemns 
him  as  a  sinner.  I  was  aware  that  among  tfr  3  lawyers  were 
some  sceptics.  Indeed  one  of  them  had  a  few  months 
before  declared  that  he  would  never  again  attend  a  Chris 
tian  meeting;  that  he  did  not  believe  in  the  Christian 
religion,  and  he  would  not  appear  to  do  so  ;  that  vc  placed 
him  in  a  false  position,  and  his  mind  was  made  up  to  pay 
uo  more  respect  to  the  institutions  of  Christianity. 

I  shaped  my  lectures  from  evening  to  evening,  with  the 
design  to  convince  the  lawyers  that,  if  the  Bible  was  r  ot  true, 
there  was  no  hope  for  them.  I  endeavored  to  show  that 
they  could  not  infer  that  God  would  forgive  them  because 
he  was  good,  for  his  goodness  might  prevent  his  forgiving 
them.  It  might  not  on  the  whole  be  wise  and  good  to 
pardon  such  a  world  of  sinners  as  we  know  ourselves  to  be  ; 
kat  left  without  the  Bible  to  throw  light  upon  that  ques 
tion,  it  was  impossible  for  human  reason  to  come  tc  the 
conclusion  that  sinners  could  be  saved.  Admitting  that 
God  was  infinitely  benevolent,  we  could  not  infer  from  that, 
that  any  sinner  could  be  forgiven  ;  but  must  infer  from  it, 
OB.  the  contrary,  that  impenitent  sinners  could  not  be 
forgiven.  I  endeavored  to  clear  the  way  so  as  to  shut  them 


HEYIVAL  IK   JftOCHBSTEk.  43'< 

ap  to  the  Bible  as  revealing  the  only  rational  way  in  which 
they  could  expect  salvation. 

At  the  close  of  my  first  lecture,  I  heard  that  the  lawyer 
to  whom  I  have  referred,  who  had  said  he  would  nevei 
attend  another  Christian  meeting,  remarked  to  a  friend  a* 
he  went  home,  that  he  had  been  mistaken,  that  he  was  sat 
;sfied  there  was  more  in  Christianity  than  he  had  supposed, 
d,nd  he  did  not  see  any  way  to  escape  the  argument  to  which 
he  had  listened ;  and  furthermore  that  he  should  attend  all 
th^se  lectures,  and  make  up  his  mind  in  view  of  the  facts 
and  arguments  that  should  be  presented. 

I  continued  to  press  this  point  upon  their  attention,  until 
[  felt  that  they  were  effectually  shut  up  to  Christ,  and  the 
revelations  made  in  the  Gospel,  as  their  only  hope.  But  as 
yet,  I  had  not  presented  Christ,  but  left  them  shut  up  under 
the  law,  condemned  by  their  own  consciences,  and  sentenced 
to  eternal  death.  This,  as  I  expected,  effectually  prepared 
the  way  for  a  cordial  reception  of  the  blessed  Gospel.  When 
I  came  to  bring  out  the  Gospel  as  revealing  the  only  possible 
or  conceivable  way  of  salvation  for  sinners,  they  gave  way,  as 
they  had  done  under  a  former  course  of  lectures,  in  former 
j-oars.  They  began  to  break  down,  and  a  large  proportiou 
of  them  were  hopefully  converted. 

What  was  quite  remarkable  in  the  three  revivals  that  1 
have  witnessed  in  Rochester,  they  all  commenced  and  made 
their  first  progress  among  the  higher  classes  of  society. 
This  was  very  favorable  to  the  general  spread  of  the  work, 
and  to  the  overcoming  of  opposition. 

There  were  many  very  striking  cases  of  conversion  in  this 
revival,  as  in  the  revival  that  preceded  it.  The  work 
gpread  and  excited  so  much  interest,  that  it  became  the  gen 
eral  topic  of  conversation  throughout  the  city  and  the  sur 
rounding  region  of  country.  Merchants  arranged  to  have 
their  clerks  attend,  a  part  of  them  one  day,  and  a  part  the 
next  day.  The  work  became  so  general  throughout  the  city 
that  in  all  placea  ot  puoiic  resort,  in  store*  and  public 


*38  MBMOIES   OF   OHABLB8   G.    FINKB1. 

houses,  in  banks,  in  the  street  and  in  public  conveyances, 
and  everywhere,  the  work  of  salvation  that  was  going  on  was 
the  absorbing  topic. 

Men  that  had  stood  out  in  the  former  revivals,  many  of 
them  bowed  to  Christ  in  this.  Some  men  who  had  been  open 
Sabbath-breakers,  others  that  had  been  openly  profane, 
ndeed,  all  classes  of  persons,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest, 
from  the  richest  to  the  poorest,  were  visited  by  the  power  of 
this  revival  and  brought  to  Christ.  I  continued  there 
throughout  the  winter,  the  revival  increasing  continually, 
to  the  last.  Rev.  Dr.  Anderson,  president  of  the  University, 
engaged  in  the  work  with  great  cordiality,  and,  as  I  under 
stood,  a  large  number  of  the  students  in  the  University  were 
converted  at  that  time.  The  pastors  of  the  two  Baptist 
churches  took  hold  of  the  effort,  and  I  preached  several  times 
in  their  churches. 

Mrs.  Pinney  was  well  acquainted  in  Rochester,  having 
lived  there  for  many  years,  and  having  witnessed  the  two 
great  revivals  in  which  I  had  labored,  that  preceded  this. 
She  took  an  absorbing  interest  in  this  revival,  and  labored, 
as  usual,  with  great  zeal  and  success.  As  on  former  occa 
sions,  I  found  the  people  of  Rochester,  like  the  noble  Bereans, 
ready  to  "  hear  the  word  with  all  readiness  of  mind,  and  to 
search  the  Scriptures  daily,  whether  these  things  were  so." 
Many  of  the  ladies  in  Rochester  exerted  their  utmost  influ 
ence  to  bring  all  classes  to  meeting  and  to  Christ.  Some  of 
them  would  visit  the  stores  and  places  of  business,  and  use 
all  their  influence  to  secure  the  attendance,  at  our  meetings, 
of  the  persons  engaged  in  these  establishments.  Many  men 
connected  with  the  operations  of  the  railroad  were  converted, 
and  finally,  much  of  the  Sabbath  business  of  the  roads  was 
suspended,  because  of  the  great  religious  movement  in  the 
city  and  among  those  employed  upon  the  roads. 

The  blessed  work  of  grace  extended  and  increased  until 
it  seemed  as  if  the  whole  city  would  be  converted.  A«  ir 
the  former  revivals,  the  work  spread  from  this  centre  to  the 


REVIVAL  IN   ROCHESTEB.  439 

surrounding  towns  and  villages.  It  has  been  quite  remarka 
ble  tbat  revivals  in  Rochester  have  had  so  great  an  influence 
upon  other  cities  and  villages  far  and  near. 

The  means  used  to  promote  this  revival  were  the  same  as 
had  been  used  in  each  of  the  preceding  great  revivals.  The 
same  doctrines  were  preached.  The  same  measures  were 
used,  with  results  in  all  respects  similar  to  what  had  beeu 
realized  in  the  former  revivals.  There  was  manifested,  as 
there  had  previously  been,  an  earnest  and  candid  attention 
to  the  word  preached  ;  a  most  intelligent  inquiry  after  the 
truth  as  it  really  is  taught  in  the  Bible.  I  never  preached 
anywhere  with  more  pleasure  than  in  Rochester.  They  art 
a  highly  intelligent  people,  and  have  ever  manifested  a  can 
dor,  an  earnestness,  and  an  appreciation  of  the  truth  excel 
ling  anything  1  have  seen,  on  so  large  a  scale,  in  any  other 
place.  I  have  labored  in  other  cities  where  the  people  were 
even  more  highly  educated  than  in  Rochester.  But  in  those 
cities  the  views  and  habits  of  the  people  were  more  stereo 
typed  ;  the  people  were  more  fastidious,  more  afraid  of 
measures  than  in  Rochester.  In  New  England  I  have  found 
a  high  degree  of  general  education,  but  a  timidity,  a  stiff 
ness,  a  formality,  and  a  stereotyped  way  of  doing  things,  that 
has  rendered  it  impossible  for  the  Holy  Spirit  to  work  with 
freedom  and  power. 

When  I  was  laboring  in  Hartford  I  was  visited  by  a  min 
ister  from  central  New  York  who  had  witnessed  the  glori 
ous  revival*  in  that  region.  He  attended  our  meetings  and 
observed  the  type  and  progress  of  the  work  there.  I  said 
nothing  to  him  of  the  formality  of  our  prayer-meetings,  oj 
of  the  timidity  of  the  people  in  the  use  of  measures,  but  he 
remarked  to  me,  "  Why,  Brother  Finney,  your  hands  are  tied, 
you  are  hedged  in  by  their  fears  and  by  the  stereotyped  way 
of  doing  everything.  They  have  even  put  the  Holy  Ghost 
into  a  strait  jacket."  This  was  strong,  and  to  some  may 
appear  irreverent  and  profane,  but  he  intended  no  such 
He  was  a  godly,  earnest,  humble  minister  of  Jesu* 


440  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   8.    EUTITEY. 

Christ,  and  expressed  just  what  he  saw  and  felt,  and  just 
what  I  saw  and  felt,  that  the  Holy  Spirii  was  restrained 
greatly  in  his  work  by  the  fears  and  the  self -wisdom  of  the 
people.  Indeed  I  must  say,  I  do  not  think  *he  people  of 
New  England  can  at  all  appreciate  the  restraints  which  they 
impose  on  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  working  out  the  salvation  of 
souls.  Nor  can  they  appreciate  the  power  and  purity  of 
the  revivals  in  those  places  where  these  fears,  prejudices, 
restraints,  and  self- wisdom  do  not  exist. 

In  an  intelligent,  educated  community,  great  freedom  may 
be  given  in  the  use  of  means,  without  danger  of  disorder. 

Indeed  wrong  ideas  of  what  constitutes  disorder,  are  very 
prevalent.  Most  churches  call  anything  disorder  to  which 
they  have  not  been  accustomed.  Their  stereotyped  ways  are 
God's  order  in  their  view,  and  whatever  differs  from  these  is 
disorder  and  shocks  their  ideas  of  propriety.  But  in  fact 
nothing  is  disorder  that  simply  meets  the  necessities  of  the 
people.  In  religion  as  in  every  thing  else,  good  sense  and  a 
sound  discretion  will,  from  time  to  time,  judiciously  adapt 
means  to  ends.  The  measures  needed  will  be  naturally  sug 
gested  to  tho4-j  vho  witness  the  state  of  things,  and  if  pray 
erful^  and  cautiously  used,  let  great  freedom  be  given  t? 
the  \r  fluen'y*r "  •*  the  Hoiy  Spirit  in  all  hearts, 


CHAPTER  XXXItt 
IN  BOSTON  ix  1866,  '57,  *68. 


r  I  THE  next  autumn  we  accepted  an  invitation  to  laboi 
-L  again  in  Boston.  We  began  onr  labors  at  Park  street, 
and  the  Spirit  of  God  immediately  manifested  his  willing 
ness  to  save  souls.  The  first  sermon  that  1  preached  was 
directed  to  the  searching  of  the  church  ;  for  I  always  began 
by  trying  to  stir  up  a  thorough  and  pervading  interest 
among  professors  of  religion  ;  to  secure  the  reclaiming  of 
those  that  were  backslidden,  and  search  out  thoae  that  were 
self  -deceived,  and  if  possible  bring  them  to  Ghnst. 

After  the  congregation  was  dismissed,  and  the  pastor  was 
standing  with  me  in  the  pulpit,  he  said  to  me,  "  Brother 
Finnev>  I  wish  to  have  you  understand  that  I  need  to  have 
this  preaching  as  much  as  any  member  of  this  church.  I 
have  been  very  much  dissatisfied  with  my  religious  state  for 
a  long  time  ;  and  have  sent  for  you  on  my  own  account,  and 
for  the  sake  of  my  own  soul,  as  well  as  for  the  sake  of  the 
aoulg  of  the  people.  "  We  had  at  different  times  protracted 
and  very  interesting  conversations.  He  seemed  thoroughly 
to  give  MB  heart  to  God.  And  one  evenimg  at  a  prayer  and 
conference  meeting,  as  I  understood,  he  related  to  the  peo 
ple  his  experience,  and  told  them  that  he  had  been  that  day 
converted. 

This  of  course  produced  a  very  deep  impression  upon  the 
church  and  congregation,  and  upon  the  city  quite  extensively. 
Some  of  the  pastors  thought  that  it  was  injudicious  for  him 
to  make  a  thing  of  that  kind  so  public.  But  I  did  not 
regard  it  in  that  light.  It  manifestly  was  the  best  means  he 
could  use  for  the  salration  of  his  people,  and  highly  oal- 


442  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G. 

ciliated  to  produce  among  professors  of  religion  generally  a 
very  great  searching  of  heart 

The  work  was  quite  extensive  that  winter  m  Boston,  and 
many  very  striking  cages  of  conversion  occurred.  We  labored 
there  until  spring,  and  then  thought  it  necessary  to  return 
to  our  labors  at  home.  But  it  was  very  manifest  that  the 
work  in  that  city  was  by  no  means  done  ;  and  we  left  with 
the  promise  that,  the  Lord  willing,  we  would  return  and 
labor  there  the  next  winter.  Accordingly  the  next  autumn 
we  returned  to  Boston. 

In  the  meantime  one  of  the  pastors  of  the  city,  who  had 
been  in  Europe  the  previous  winter,  had  been  writing  some 
articles,  which  were  published  in  the  Congregationalist, 
opposing  our  return  there.  He  regarded  my  theology,  espe 
cially  on  thfc  subject  of  sanctification,  as  unsound.  This 
opjxwuion  produced  an  effect,  and  we  felt  at  once  th»*  there 
wa*  a  jar  among  the  Christian  people.  Some  of  the  lading 
members  of  his  church,  who  the  winter  before  had  entered 
heart  and  soul  into  the  work,  stood  aloof,  and  did  not  come 
near  our  meetings  ;  and  it  was  evident  that  his  whole  influ 
ence,  which  was  considerable  at  that  time  in  the  city,  was 
against  the  work.  This  made  some  of  his  good  people 
very  sad. 

This  winter  of  1857-58  will  be  remembered  as  the  time 
when  &  great  revival  prevailed  throughout  all  the  Northern 
states.  It  swept  over  the  land  with  such  power,  that  for  a 
time  it  was  estimated  that  not  less  than  fifty  thousand  con 
versions  occurred  in  a  single  week.  This  revival  had  some 
very  peculiarly  interesting  features.  It  was  carried  on  to  a 
large  extent  through  lay  influence,  so  much  so  as  almost  tc 
throw  the  ministers  into  the  shade.  There  had  been  a  daily 
prayer-meeting  observed  in  Boston  for  several  years  ;  and  in 
the  autumn  previous  to  the  great  outburst,  the  daily  prayer- 
meeting  had  been  established  in  Fulton  street,  New  York, 
which  has  been  continued  to  this  day.  Indeed,  daily  prayer- 
meetings  were  established  throughout  the  lenarth  and  bread tb 


KEVITALS    IS    BOSTON.  44*} 

of  the  Northern  states.  I  recollect  in  one  of  our  prayer-meet 
ings  in  Boston  that  winter,  a  gentleman  arose  and  said,  "  I 
am  from  Omaha,  in  Nebraska.  On  my  journey  East  I  have 
found  a  continuous  prayer-meeting  all  the  way.  We  call  it," 
said  he,  "  about  two  thousand  miles  from  Omaha  to  Boston  ; 
and  here  was  a  prayer-meeting  about  two  thousand  miles  in 
aitent." 

In  Boston  we  had  DO  struggle,  as  I  have  intimated, 
against  this  divisive  influence,  whicn  set  the  religious  in 
terest  a  good  deal  back  from  where  wv  had  left  it  the  spring 
before.  However,  the  work  continued  steadily  to  increase, 
in  the  midst  of  these  unfavorable  conditions.  It  was  evident 
that  the  Lord  intended  to  make  a  gereral  sweep  in  Boston. 
Finally  it  was  suggested  that  a  business-men's  prayer-meet 
ing  should  be  established,  at  twelve  o'clock,  in  the  chapel  of 
the  Old  South  church,  which  was  very  central  for  business 
men.  The  Christian  friend,  whose  guests  we  were,  secured 
the  use  of  the  room,  and  advertised  the  meeting.  Bu* 
whether  such  a  meeting  would  succeed  in  Boston  at  that 
time,  was  considered  doubtful.  However,  this  brother  called 
the  meeting ;  and  to  the  surprise  of  almost  everybody  the 
place  was  not  only  crowded,  but  multitudes  could  not  get  in 
at  all.  This  meeting  was  continued,  day  after  day,  with 
wonderful  results.  Tne  place  was,  from  the  first,  too  strait 
for  them,  and  other  daily  meetings  were  established  in  other 
parts  of  the  city. 

Mrs.  Finney  held  ladies''  meetings  daily  at  the  large 
vestry  of  Park  street  These  meet^igs  became  so  crowded, 
that  the  ladies  would  fill  the  room,  and  then  stand  abdui 
the  door  on  the  outside,  as  far  as  they  could  hear  on  ever} 
side. 

One  of  our  daily  prayer-meetings  was  held  at  Park  street 
church,  which  would  be  full  whenever  it  was  open  for 
prayer  ;  and  this  was  the  case  with  many  other  meetings  in 
different  parts  of  the  city.  The  population,  large  as  it  was. 
seemed  to  be  moved  throughout.  The  revival  became  toe 


t44  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G.    FIKKE1, 

general  to  keep  any  account  at  all  of  the  nunxber  of  convei 
sions,  or  to  allow  of  any  estimate  being  made  that  would 
approximate  the  truth.     All  classes  of  people  were  inquiring 
everywhere.     Many  of  the  Unitarians  became  greatly  inter 
ested,  and  attended  our  meetings  in  large  numbers. 

This  revival  is  of  so  recent  date  that  I  need  not  enlarge 
apor  it,  because  it  bec«ime  almost  universal  throughout  the 
Northern  states.  A  divine  influence  seemed  to  pervade  the 
whole  land.  Slavery  seemed  to  shut  it  out  from  the  South. 
The  people  there  were  in  such  a  state  of  irritation,  of  vexa 
tion,  and  of  committal  to  their  peculiar  institution,  which 
had  come  to  be  assailed  on  every  side,  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
seemed  to  be  grieved  away  from  them.  There  seemed  to  be 
no  place  found  for  him  in  the  hearts  of  the  Southern  people 
at  that  time.  It  was  estimated  that  during  this  revival  not 
less  than  five  hundred  thousand  souls  were  converted  in  this 
country. 

Aa  I  have  said,  it  was  carried  on  very  much  through  tht 
njgtrnmeiitality  of  prayer- meetings,  personal  visitation  and 
jonversation,  by  the  distribution  of  tracts,  and  by  the  ener 
getic  efforts  of  the  laity,  men  and  women.  Ministers 
nowhere  opposed  it  that  I  am  aware  of.  I  believe  they 
universally  sympathized  with  it.  But  there  was  such  a 
general  confidence  in  the  prevalence  of  prayer,  that  the 
people  very  extensively  seemed  to  prefer  meetings  for  prayer 
to  meetings  for  preaching.  The  general  impression  seemed 
to  be,  "  We  have  had  instruction  until  we  are  hardened  ;  it 
is  time  for  us  to  pray."  The  answers  to  prayer  were 
constant,  and  so  striking  as  to  arrest  the  attention  of  the 
people  generally  throughout  the  land.  It  was  evident  that  in 
answer  to  prayer  the  windows  of  heaven  were  opened  and 
the  Spirit  of  God  poured  out  like  a  flood.  The  New  York 
Tribune  at  that  time  published  several  extras,  filled  with 
accounts  of  the  progress  of  the  revival  in  different  parts  of 
the  United  States. 

I  have  said  there  were  some  very  striking  instances  o/ 


BBYIYAL8  IK  BOSXOH.  446 

conversion  in  this  revival  in  Boston.  One  day  I  received  an 
anonymous  letter,  from  a  lady,  asking  my  advice  in  regard 
to  ttio  state  of  her  soul.  Usually  I  took  no  notaoe  whatever 
of  anonymous  letters.  But  the  handwriting,  the  manifest 
talert  displayed  in  the  letter,  together  with  the  unmistakable 
earnestness  of  the  writer,  led  me  to  give  it  unwonted  atten 
tion.  She  concluded  by  requesting  me  to  answer  it,  and 

direct  it  to  Mrs.  M ,  and  leave  it  with  the  sexton  of  the 

church  tfhere  I  was  to  preach  that  night,  and  she  should 
get  it.  I  was  at  this  time  preaching  around  from  evening 
to  evening  in  different  churches.  I  replied  to  thia  anony 
mous  letter,  that  I  could  not  give  her  the  advice  which  she 
sought,  because  I  was  not  well  enough  acquainted  with  her 
history,  o*  with  the  real  state  of  her  mind.  But  I  would 
venture  *4»  ^all  her  attention  to  one  fact,  which  was  very 
apparent,  not  only  in  her  letter  but  also  in  the  fact  of  her 
not  putting  her  name  to  it,  that  she  was  a  very  proud 
woman  ;  and  that  that  fact  she  needed  thoroughly  to  con 
sider. 

I  left  my  reply  with  the  sexton,  as  she  requested,  and 
the  next  morning  a  lady  called  to  see  me.  As  soon  as  she 
came  in,  she  informed  me  that  she  was  the  lady  that  wrote 
that  anonymous  letter ;  and  she  had  called  to  tell  me  that 
I  was  mistaken  in  thinking  that  she  was  proud.  She  said 
that  she  was  far  enough  from  that ;  but  she  was  a  member 
of  the  Episcopal  church,  and  did  not  want  to  disgrace  her 
church  by  revealing  the  fact  that  she  wag  not  converted.  I 
replied,  "It  is  church  pride,  then,  that  kept  you  from 
revealing  your  name."  This  touched  her  so  deeply  that  ab* 
arose,  and  in  a  manifeet  excitement  left  the  room.  I  ev 
pected  to  see  her  no  more  ;  but  that  evening  I  found  her, 
after  preaching,  among  the  inquirers  in  the  vestry.  In  pass 
ing  around  I  observed  this  lady.  She  was  manifestly  a  woman 
of  intelligence  and  education,  and  I  could  perceive  that  she 
belonged  to  cultivated  society.  But  as  yet  I  did  not  know 
her  name  ;  for  our  conversation  that  morning  had  not  lasted 


£46  KBMOIB8  OF   CHARLES   G.    FTNTXEY. 

more  than  a  minute  or  two,  before  she  left  the  room  se  1 
haye  related.  As  I  observed  her  in  passing  around,  I  re 
marked  to  her  quietly,  "And  you  here?"  "Yes,"  she 
replied,  and  dropped  her  head  as  if  she  felt  deeply.  I  had  a 
few  words  of  kind  conversation  with  her,  and  it  passed  foi 
that  evening. 

lit  these  inquiry  meetings  I  always  urged  the  necessity 
of  immediate  submission  to  Christ,  and  brought  them  face 
to  face  with  that  duty ;  and  I  then  called  on  such  as  were 
prepared  to  commit  themselves  unalterably  to  Christ,  to 
kneel  down.  I  observed  when  I  made  this  call,  that  she 
was  among  the  first  that  made  a  movement  to  kneel.  The 
next  morning  she  called  on  me  again  at  an  early  hour.  As 
soon  as  we  were  alone,  she  opened  her  mind  to  me  and  said, 
"  I  see,  Mr.  Finney,  that  I  have  been  very  proud.  I  have 
come  to  cell  you  who  I  am,  and  to  give  you  such  facts  in 
regard  to  my  history,  that  you  may  know  what  to  say  to  me." 
She  was,  as  I  had  supposed,  a  woman  in  high  life,  the  wife 
of  a  wealthy  gentleman,  who  was  himself  &  sceptic.  She 
had  made  a  profession  of  religion,  but  was  unconverted. 
She  was  very  frank  in  this  interview,  and  threw  her  mind 
open  to  instruction  very  cordially  ;  and  either  at  that  time 
or  immediately  after,  she  expressed  hope  in  Christ,  and 
became  a  very  earnest  Christian.  She  is  a  remarkable  writer, 
and  could  more  nearly  report  my  sermons,  without  short 
hand,  than  any  person  I  ever  knew.  She  used  to  come  and 
sit  and  write  my  sermons  with  a  rapidity  and  an  accuracy 
that  were  quite  astonishing.  She  sent  copies  of  her  notes  to 
a  great  many  of  her  friends,  and  exerted  herself  to  the  utmost 
to  secure  the  conversion  of  her  friends  in  Boston  and  eLse- 
where.  With  this  lady  I  have  had  much  correspondence. 
She  has  always  manifested  that  same  earnestness  in  religion, 
that  she  did  at  that  time.  She  has  always  some  good  work 
in  hand  ;  and  is  an  earnest  laborer  for  the  poor,  and  for  all 
classes  that  need  her  instruction,  her  sympathy,  and  hei 
help.  She  has  passed  through  many  mental  struggles,  SUF 


REVIVALS  IN    BOSTON.  44? 

rounded  as  she  is  by  such  temptations  to  worldliness.  Bnt 
I  trust  that  she  has  been,  and  will  be,  an  ornament  to  the 
church  of  Christ. 

The  revival  extended  from  Boston  to  Charlestown  and 
Chelsea.  In  short  it  spread  on  every  side.  I  preached  in 
East  Boston  and  Charlestown  ;  and  for  a  waaiderable  time 
in  Chelsea,  where  the  revival  became  very  general  and  pre 
cious.  We  continued  to  labor  in  Boston  that  winter,  until  it 
was  time  for  us  to  return  to  our  labors  at  home  in  the  spring. 
When  we  left,  the  work  was  in  its  full  strength  without  any 
apparent  abatement  at  all. 

The  church  and  ministry  in  this  country  had  become  so 
very  extensively  engaged  in  promoting  the  revival,  and  such 
was  the  blessing  of  God  attending  the  exertions  of  laymen  as 
well  as  of  ministers,  that  I  made  up  my  mind  to  return  and 
spend  another  season  in  England,  and  see  if  the  same  influ 
ence  would  not  pervade  that  country. 


OHAPTKB  XXXIV. 

SKXXBTD  VISIT  TO  BKGLATO. 

WE  sailed  for  Liverpool  in  the  steamer  Persia,  n 
December,  1858.  Our  friend  Brown  came  to  Liver 
pool  to  meet  us,  to  induce  us  to  labor  in  Houghton  tor  a  sea 
son,  before  we  committed  ourselves  to  any  other  field.  Imme 
diately  on  our  arrival,  I  received  a  great  number  of  Betters 
from  different  parts  of  England,  expressing  great  joy  at  oui 
return  and  inviting  us  to  come  and  labor  in  many  different 
fields.  However  I  spent  several  weeks  laboring  in  Hough  tot 
and  Saint  Ives,  where  we  saw  precious  revivals.  In  Saint 
Ivee  they  had  never  had  a  revival  before.  In  Houghton 
we  had  labored  during  our  first  visit  to  England,  and  saw  a 
very  interesting  work  of  grace. 

At  this  time  we  found  at  Saint  Ives  a  very  singular  state 
of  things.  There  was  but  one  Independent  church,  the 
pastor  of  which  had  been  there  a  good  many  years,  but  had 
not  succeeded  in  doing  much  as  a  minister.  He  was  a  mys 
terious  sort  of  man.  He  was  very  fond  of  wine  and  a  great 
opposer  of  total  abstinence.  We  held  our  meetings  in  a  hall 
which  would  accommodate  more  people,  by  far,  than  the 
Congregational  church.  I  sometimes  preached,  however,  in 
the  church  ;  but  it  was  a  less  desirable  place  to  preach  in 
than  the  hall,  as  it  was  a  very  small  and  incommodious 
house. 

The  revival  took  powerful  effect  there,  notwithstanding 
the  position  of  the  minister.  He  stood  firmly  againat  it  until 
the  interest  became  so  great  that  he  left  the  tcwn,  and  was 
absent,  I  know  not  where,  for  several  weeks.  Since,  that 
the  eonverfcs  of  the  revival,  together  with  my  friend 


SBOOKD   VISIT  TO   EKGLAKD.  44 

Brown,  and  some  of  the  older  members  of  the  church,  have 
put  up  a  fine  chapel,  and  the  religious  condition  of  the  place 
has  been  exceedingly  different  from  what  it  ever  had  been 
before. 

Mr.  Harcourt,  the  former  pastor  at  Houghton,  had  proved 
himself  a  very  successful  minister,  and  had  been  called  to 
London,  to  Borough  Road  chapel.  Here  I  found  him  on 
my  second  visit  to  England.  He  had  been  awaiting,  with 
anxiety,  our  return  to  England ;  and  as  soon  as  he  heard  we 
were  there,  he  used  most  strenuous  efforts  to  secure  our 
labors  with  him  in  London.  The  church  over  which  he  pre 
sided  in  London,  had  been  torn  to  pieces  by  most  ultra  and 
fanatical  views  on  the  subject  of  temperance.  They  had  had 
a  lovely  pastor,  whose  heart  had  been  almost  broken  by  theii 
feuds  upon  that  subject,  and  he  had  finally  left  the  church  ID 
utter  discouragement.  Their  deacons  had  been  compelled 
to  resign,  and  the  church  was  in  a  sad  state  of  disorganiza 
tion.  Brother  Harcourt  informed  me  that  unless  the  church 
could  be  converted,  he  was  satisfied  he  never  could  succeed 
in  doing  much  in  that  field. 

As  soon  as  we  could  leave  Saint  Ives  we  went  to  London, 
to  see  what  could  be  done  in  his  church  and  congregation. 
We  found  them,  as  he  had  represented,  in  so  demoralized  a 
state  that  it  seemed  questionable  whether  the  church  could 
ever  be  resuscitated  and  built  up.  However  we  went  to 
work,  my  wife  among  the  ladies  of  the  congregation,  and  J 
went  to  preaching,  and  searching  them,  to  the  utmost  of  my 
strength.  It  was  very  soon  perceptible  that  the  Spirit  of 
God  was  poured  out,  and  that  the  church  were  very  gener 
ally  in  a  state  of  great  conviction.  The  work  deepened  and 
spread  till  it  reached,  I  believe,  every  household  belonging 
to  that  congregation.  All  the  old  members  of  the  church 
were  so  searched  that  they  made  confession  one  to  another, 
and  settled  their  difficulties ;  and  Mr.  Harcourt  told  me, 
before  I  left,  that  his  church  was  entirely  a  new  church, 
f,hat  the  blessing  of  God  had  beer  universal  among  them  ao 


MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G. 

that  all  their  old  animosities  were  healed ;  and  that  he  had 
the  greatest  comfort  in  them.  Indeed  the  work  in  thai 
church  was  really  most  wonderful.  I  directed  my  labors,  for 
several  weeks,  to  the  church  itself.  Mr.  Harcourt  had  been 
praying  for  them,  and  laboring  with  them,  till  he  was  almost 
liscouraged  ;  but  the  blessing  at  last  came,  in  such  fulness, 
as  to  meet  the  longings  of  his  heart.  His  people  were  recon 
verted  and  cemented  together  in  love,  and  they  learned  to 
take  hold  of  the  work  themselves. 

Some  years  after  my  return  to  this  country,  Mr.  Har 
court  came  over  and  made  us  a  visit  This  was  a  little 
while  after  the  death  of  my  dear  wife.  He  then  told  me 
that  the  work  had  continued  in  his  church  up  to  that  time, 
that  his  people  felt  that  if  there  were  not  more  or  less  con 
versions  every  week,  something  was  entirely  wrong.  They 
were  frightened  if  the  work  was  not  perceptibly  and  con 
stantly  going  forward.  He  said  they  stood  by  him,  and  he 
felt  every  Sabbath  as  if  he  was  in  the  midst  of  a  praying 
atmosphere.  Indeed  his  report  of  the  results  of  that  revival 
ap  to  the  time  of  his  leaving,  was  deeply  interesting.  Con- 
iidering  what  the  church  had  been,  and  what  it  was  aftei 
the  revival,  it  is  no  wonder  that  Mr.  Harcourt's  heart  was  as 
fall  as  it  could  hold  of  thanksgiving  to  God  for  such  a 
blessing. 

In  this  place,  as  had  been  the  case  before  at  Dr.  Camp 
bell's,  there  were  great  revelations  made  of  iniquity  that  had 
oeen  covered  up  for  a  long  time,  among  professors  of  re 
ligion.  These  cases  were  frequently  brought  to  my  notice 
by  persons  coming  to  me  to  ask  for  advice.  Not  only  did 
professors  of  religion  come,  but  numbers  that  had  never 
made  a  profession  of  religion,  who  became  terribly  convicted 
»f  sin. 

Soon  after  I  began  my  labors  at  this  time  in  London,  a 
Dr.  Tregelles,  a  distinguished  literary  man  and  professed 
theologian,  wrote  to  Dr.  Campbell,  calling  his  attention  to 
what  he  regarded  as  a  great  error  in  my  theology.  In  treat- 


8HC03.I)    VISIT  TO   EtfGLAJm  461 


ing  upon  the  conditions  of  salvation,  I  had  said  in  my 
Systematic  Theology,  that  the  atonement  of  Christ  was  OIM 
of  the  conditions.  I  said  that  God's  infinite  love  was  the 
foundation  01  source  from  which  the  whole  movement 
sprung,  but  that  the  conditions  upon  which  we  could  be 
saved,  were  the  atonement  of  Christ,  faith,  and  repentance. 
To  this  statement  Dr.  Tregelles  took  great  exceptions. 

Strange  to  tell,  instead  of  going  to  my  theology,  and 
seeing  just  what  I  did  say,  Dr.  Campbell  took  it  up  in  his 
paper  and  agreed  with  Dr.  Tregelles,  and  wrote  several 
articles  in  opposition  to  what  he  supposed  to  be  my  views. 
They,  both  of  them,  strangely  misunderstood  my  position, 
and  got  up  in  England,  at  this  time,  a  good  deal  of  opposi 
tion  to  my  labors.  Dr.  Campbell,  it  appeared,  after  all,  had 
no  doubt  of  my  orthodoxy.  Dr.  Eedford  insisted  that  my 
statement  of  the  matter  was  right,  and  that  any  other  state 
ment  was  far  from  being  right.  However,  I  paid  no 
attention,  publicly,  to  Dr.  Campbell's  strictures  on  the 
subject  He  afterwards  wrote  me  a  letter,  which  I  have 
now  in  my  possession,  subscribing  fully  to  my  orthodoxy  and 
to  my  views  ;  but  saying  that,  unfortunately,  I  made  dis 
criminations  in  my  theology  that  common  people  did  not 
understand.  The  fact  is,  a  great  many  people  understood 
them  better  than  the  Doctor  did  himself. 

He  had  been  educated  in  Scotland,  and  was,  after  the 
straitest  sect,  a  Scotch  theologian  ;  consequently  my  new- 
school  statements  of  doctrine  puzzled  him,  and  it  took  him 
some  time  to  understand  them.  I  found  when  I  first  arrived 
in  England  that  their  theology  was  to  a  very  great  extent  dog 
matic,  in  the  sense  that  it  rested  on  authority.  They  had  their 
Thirty-nine  Articles  in  the  Established  church,  and  their 
Westminster  Confession  of  faith  ;  and  these  they  regarded 
as  authority.  They  were  not  at  all  in  the  habit  of  trying  to 
prove  the  positions  taken  in  these  "  standards/'  as  they  were 
called;  but  dealt  them  out  as  dogmas.  When  I  began  to  preach 
they  were  surprised  that  I  reasoned  with  the  people.  Dr. 


453  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G.    FIXlffSY. 

Campbell  did  not  approve  it,  and  insisted  that  it  would  dt 
no  good.  But  the  people  felt  otherwise  ;  and  it  was  not  un 
common  for  me  to  receive  such  intelligence  as  this,  that  ray 
reasonings  had  convinced  them  of  what  they  had  always 
doubted  ;  and  that  my  preaching  was  logical  instead  of  dog 
matic,  and  therefore  met  the  wants  of  the  people. 

I  had  myself,  before  I  was  converted,  felt  greatly  the 
want  of  instruction  and  logical  preaching  from  the  pulpit. 
This  experience  always  had  a  great  influence  upon  my  own 
preaching.  I  knew  how  thinking  men  felt  when  a  minister 
took  for  granted  the  very  things  that  needed  proof.  I  there 
fore  used  to  take  great  pains  to  meet  the  wants  of  persons 
who  were  in  this  state  of  mind.  I  knew  what  my  difficulties 
had  been,  and  therefore  I  endeavored  to  meet  the  intellect 
ual  wants  of  my  hearers. 

I  told  Dr.  Campbell  this ;  but  at  first  he  had  no  faith 
that  the  people  would  understand  me  and  appreciate  my 
reasonings.  But  when  he  came  to  receive  the  converts,  and 
to  converse  personally  with  them,  he  confessed  to  me  again 
and  again  his  surprise  that  they  had  so  well  understood  my 
reasonings.  "  Why,"  he  would  say,  "  they  are  theologians." 
He  was  very  frank,  and  confessed  to  me  how  erroneous  his 
views  had  been  upon  that  subject 

After  I  had  finished  my  labors  at  Borough  Road  chapel, 
we  left  London  and  rested  a  few  weeks  at  Hough  ton.  Such 
was  the  state  of  my  health  that  I  thought  I  muat  return 

home.  But  Dr.  F ,  an  excellent  Christian  man  living  in 

Huntington,  urged  us  very  much  to  go  to  his  house  and 
finish  our  rest,  and  let  him  do  what  he  could  for  me  as 
a  physician.  We  accepted  his  invitation  and  went  to  hii 
house.  He  had  a  family  of  eight  children,  all  unconverted. 
The  oldest  son  was  also  a  physician.  He  was  a  young  man 
of  remarkable  talents,  but  a  thorough  sceptic.  He  had  em 
braced  Comte'g  philosophy,  and  had  settled  down  in  extreme 
views  of  atheism,  or  I  should  say,  of  nihilism.  He  seemed 
Hot  to  believe  anything.  He  was  a  very  affectionate  SOD 


SECOND    VISIT  TO    ENGLAND.  45b 

but  his  scepticism  had  deeply  wounded  his  father,  and  for 
his  conversion  he  had  come  to  feel  an  unutterable  longing. 

After  remaining  at  the  doctor's  two  or  three  weeks,  with 
out  medicine,  my  health  became  such  that  I  began  to  preach. 
There  never  had  been  a  revival  in  Huntington,  and  they 
really  had  no  conception  of  what  a  revival  would  be.  I 
occupied  what  they  called  "  Temperance  Hall,"  the  only 
large  hall  ;n  the  town.  It  was  immediately  filled,  and  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  was  soon  poured  out  upon  the  people.  I 

aoon  found  opportunity  to  converse  with  young  Dr.  F . 

I  drew  him  out  into  some  long  walks,  and  entered  fully  into 
an  investigation  of  his  views  ;  and  finally,  under  God,  suc 
ceeded  in  bringing  him  to  a  perfect  stand-still.  He  saw  that 
all  his  philosophy  was  vain.  At  this  time  I  preached  one 
Sabbath  evening  on  the  text :  "  The  hail  shall  sweep  away 
the  refuges  of  lies,  and  the  waters  shall  overflow  the  hiding- 
places.  Your  covenant  with  death  shall  be  disannulled,  and 
your  agreement  with  hell  shall  not  stand."  I  spent  my 
strength  in  searching  out  the  refuges  of  lies,  and  exposing 
them  ;  and  concluded  with  a  picture  of  the  hail-storm,  and 
the  descending  torrent  of  rain  that  swept  away  what  the 
hail  had  not  demolished.  The  impression  on  the  congrega 
tion  was  at  the  time  very  deep.  That  night  young  Dr. 

F could  not  sleep.  His  father  went  to  his  room,  and 

found  him  in  the  greatest  consternation  and  agony  of  mind. 
At  length  he  became  calm,  and  to  all  appearance  passed 
from  death  unto  life.  The  prayers  of  the  father  and  the 
mother  for  their  children  were  heard.  The  revival  went 
through  their  family,  and  converted  every  one  of  them.  It 
was  a  joyt'ul  house,  and  one  of  the  most  lovely  families  that 
I  ever  had  the  privilege  of  residing  in.  We  remained  at 
their  house  while  we  continued  our  labors  in  Huntington. 

The  revival  took  a  very  general  hold  of  the  church,  and 
of  professors  of  religion  in  that  town,  and  spread  extensively 
among  the  unconverted ;  and  greatly  changed  the  religious 
aspect  of  the  town.  There  was  then  no  Congregntiora 


4:54  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   tt.    FLSTNEY, 

church  there.  There  were  two  or  three  churches  of  tkt 
Establishment,  one  Methodist,  and  one  Baptist,  at  that  time 
in  Huntington.  Since  then  the  converts  of  that  revival, 
together  with  Mr.  Brown  and  his  son,  and  those  Christians 
that  were  blest  in  the  revival,  have  united  and  built,  as  I 
understand,  a  commodious  chapel  at  Huntington,  as  they  did 
at  St.  Ives. 

Mr.  Brown  had  pushed  his  work  of  evangelization  with 
auch  energy,  that  when  I  arrived  in  England  the  second 
time,  I  found  that  he  had  seven  churches  in  as  many  differ 
ent  villages  in  his  neighborhood,  and  was  employing  preach 
ers,  and  teachers,  and  laborers,  to  the  number  of  twenty. 
His  means  of  doing  good  have  fully  kept  pace  with  his 
princely  outlays  for  souls.  When  I  first  arrived  in  England, 
he  was  running  a  hired  flouring  mill,  with  ten  pairs  of 
stones  ;  the  second  time  I  was  there,  in  addition  to  this,  he 
was  running  a  mill  which  he  had  built  at  Saint  Ives,  at  an 
expense  of  twenty  thousand  pounds  sterling,  with  sixteen 
pairs  of  stones.  He  afterward  built,  at  Huntington,  another 
mill  of  the  same  capacity.  Thus  God  poured  into  his  coffers 
as  fast  as  he  poured  out  into  the  treasury  of  the  Lord. 

From  Huntington  we  returned  to  London,  and  labored 
for  several  weeks  in  the  north-eastern  part  of  the  city,  in 
several  chapels  occupied  by  a  branch  of  the  Methodist  church. 
One  of  the  places  of  worship  was  in  Spitalsfield,  the  house 
having  been  originally  built,  I  think,  by  the  Huguenots.  Il 
was  a  commodious  place  of  worship,  and  we  had  a  glorioui* 
work  of  grace  there,  which  continued  till  late  in  tb 
summer. 


CHAPTER  XXXY. 

LABORS   IN   SCOTLAND    AND   IN   ENGLAND. 

WHILE  I  was  at  this  time  in  London,  I  was  invited 
very  urgently  to  visit  Edinburgh  in  Scotland  ;  and 
'ibout  the  middle  of  August  we  left  London  and  took  passage 
by  steam  up  the  coast,  through  the  German  ocean,  to  Edin 
burgh.  I  had  been  urged  to  go  there  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kirk, 
of  Edinburgh,  who  belonged  to  that  portion  of  the  church 
in  Scotland  called  the  Evangelical  Union  church.  Their 
leading  theologian  was  a  Mr.  Morrison,  who  presided  over  a 
theological  school  at  Glasgow.  I  found  Mr.  Kirk  an  earnest 
man,  and  a  great  lover  of  revival  work.  This  Evangelical 
Union,  or  E.  U.  church,  as  they  called  it,  had  grown  out  of 
a  revival  effort  made  in  Scotland  at  the  time  of  the  first 
publication  of  my  revival  lectures  in  that  country.  A  con 
siderable  number  of  Scotch  ministers,  and  a  much  larger 
number  of  laymen,  had  been  greatly  stirred  up,  and  had 
made  many  successful  revival  efforts  ;  but  had  expended 
their  strength  very  much  in  controversy  upon  the  hyper-cal- 
vinistic  views  maintained  by  the  Scotch  Presbyterians. 

I  remained  three  months  in  Edinburgh,  preaching 
mostly  in  Mr.  Kirk's  church,  which  was  one  of  the  largest 
places  of  worship  in  Edinburgh.  We  had  a  very  interesting 
revival  in  that  place,  and  many  souls  were  converted. 
Church  members  were  greatly  blessed,  and  Mr.  Kirk's  hands 
were  full,  day  and  night,  of  labors  among  inquirers.  But  I 
soon  found  that  he  was  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  prejudice. 
The  Presbyterian  churches  were  strongly  opposed  to  this  E. 
U.  Branch  of  the  church  ;  and  I  found  myself  hedged  in,  ap 
it  respected  ouenings  for  labor  in  other  churches. 


466  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G.    FINNEY. 

Mr.  Kirk  was  at  that  time  not  only  pastor,  but  als& 
professor  in  a  theological  school  at  Glasgow,  and  in  addi 
tion,  was  editor  of  "  the  Christian  News,"  which  was  pub 
lished  at  Glasgow.  In  that  paper,  from  time  to  time,  he 
represented  my  theological  views  as  identical  with  the  views 
of  their  theological  seminary  and  of  their  church.  But  on 
some  points  I  found  that  I  very  considerably  differed  front 
them.  Their  views  of  faith  as  a  mere  intellectual  state  1 
could  not  receive.  They  explained  away,  in  a  manner  to 
me  utterly  unintelligible,  the  doctrine  of  election  ;  and  on 
sundry  points  I  found  I  did  not  agree  with  them.  How 
ever  Mr.  Kirk  insisted  that  he  entirely  accepted  my  views  as 
he  heari  me  preach  them,  and  that  they  were  tho  views  of 
the  E.  tJ.  church.  Thus  insisting  that  my  views  were 
identical  with  theirs,  without  intending  it,  he  shut  the  doors 
of  the  other  pulpits  against  me,  and  doubtless  kept  multi 
tudes  of  persons  who  otherwise  would  have  come  and  heard 
me,  from  our  meetings. 

Mrs.  Finney's  labors  in  this  place  were  greatly  blessed. 
Mrs.  Kirk,  the  wife  of  the  pastor,  was  a  very  earnest  Chris 
tian  lady  ;  and  she  took  hold  with  my  wife,  with  all  her 
might.  They  established  a  ladies'  prayer-meeting,  which  is 
continued  to  this  day,  reports  of  which  have  been  made 
from  year  to  year  in  the  Christian  News  ;  and  Mrs.  Kirk 
has  published  a  small  volume,  giving  an  account  of 
the  establishment  and  progress  of  that  meeting.  The 
answers  to  prayer  that  were  vouchsafed  there  were  wonder 
ful.  Requests  have  been  sent  from  various  parts  of  Scot 
land  to  them,  to  pray  for  various  places,  and  persons,  and 
objects.  The  history  of  that  meeting  has  been  one  of 
uncommon  encouragement.  From  that  sprung  up  similw 
meetings  in  various  parts  of  Scotland  ;  and  these  hftTe  pat 
the  women  of  Scotland  very  much  in  a  new  position,  in 
regard  to  personal  efforts  in  revivals  of  religion. 

After  remaining  in  Edinburgh  three  months,  and  seeing 
there  a  blessed  work  of  grace,  we  Accepted  an  invitation  to 


LABORS  IN  SCOTLAND.  4:57 

go  to  Aberdeen  ;  and  in  November  we  found  ourselves  in 
that  city,  which  is  near  the  northern  extremity  of  Scotland. 
We  were  invited  there  by  a  Mr.  Ferguson,  also  a  minister 
of  the  E.  U.  church,  and  an  intimate  friend  of  Mr.  Kirk. 
He  had  been  very  much  irritated,  and  was  at  the  time  we 
arrived  there,  with  the  opposition  that  he  met  from  the 
Presbyterian  and  Congregational  churches.  His  congrega 
tion  was  still  more  closely  hedged  in  by  prejudice  than  Mr. 
Kirk's.  He  was  an  earnest  Christian  man,  but  had  been 
chafed  exceedingly  by  the  opposition  which  had  enclosed 
him  like  a  wall.  At  first  I  could  not  get  a  hearing  except 
with  his  own  people  ;  and  I  became  a  good  deal  discour 
aged,  and  so  did  Brother  Ferguson  himself. 

At  the  time  of  this  discouragement,  Mr.  Davison,  a  Con 
gregational  minister  of  Bolton,  in  Lancashire,  wrote  me  a 
very  pressing  letter  to  come  and  labor  with  him.  The  state 
of  things  was  so  discouraging  at  Aberdeen  that  I  gave  him 
encouragement  that  I  would  go.  But,  in  the  meantime  she 
interest  greatly  increased  in  Aberdeen,  and  other  ministers 
and  churches  began  to  feel  the  influence  of  what  was  going 
on  there.  The  Congregational  minister  invited  me  to  preach 
in  his  church  for  a  Sabbath,  which  I  did.  A  Mr.  Brown,  in 
one  of  the  Presbyterian  churches,  also  invited  me  to  preach  ; 
but,  at  the  time,  my  hands  were  too  full  to  accept  his  invita 
tion,  though  I  intended  to  preach  for  him  at  another  time. 
Before  this,  I  should  have  said,  that  the  work  in  Mr.  Fergu 
son's  congregation  had  begun,  and  was  getting  into  a  very 
interesting  state.  Numbers  had  been  converted,  and  a  very 
oiteresting  change  was  manifestly  coming  over  his  congrega 
tion  and  over  that  city.  But  in  the  meantime,  1  had  so 
committed  myself  to  go  to  Bolton  that  I  found  I  must  go  ; 
and  we  left  Aberdeen  just  before  the  Christmas  holidays  and 
went  to  Bolton. 

While  I  was  with  Mr.  Ferguson  at  Aberdeen,  I  was  urged 
by  his  son,  who  was  settled  over  one  of  the  E.  U.  churches 
\n  Glasgow,  to  labor  with  him  for  a  season.  This  had  been 


MEMOIRS   OF   CHABLE8   Q.    FLN2OTK. 

arged  upon  me  before  I  left  Edinburgh.  But  1  was  unwii 
ling  to  continue  my  labors  longer  with  that  denomination, 
^ot  that  they  were  not  good  men,  and  earnest  workers  for 
God;  but  their  controversies  had  brought  them  into  such 
relations  to  the  surrounding  churches,  as  to  shut  me  out 
from  all  sympathy  and  co-operation,  except  with  those  of 
iheir  peculiar  views.  I  had  been  accustomed,  in  this 
country,  to  labor  freely  with  Presbyterians  and  Congrega- 
tionalists  ;  and  I  desired  greatly  to  get  a  hearing  among  the 
Presbyterians  and  Congregationalists  of  Scotland.  But  in 
laboring  with  the  E.  U.  churches,  I  found  myself  in  a  false 
position.  What  had  been  said  in  the  Christian  News,  and 
the  fact  vhat  I  was  laboring  in  that  denomination,  led  to  the 
inference  that  I  agreed  with  them  in  their  peculiar  views, 
while  in  fact  I  did  not. 

I  thought  if  not  my  duty  to  continue  any  longer  in  this 
false  position  I  declined,  therefore,  to  go  to  Glasgow. 
Although  I  regarded  the  brother  who  invited  me,  as  one  of 
the  best  of  men,  and  his  church  as  a  godly,  praying  people  ; 
yet  there  were  other  godly,  praying  people  in  Glasgow,  and 
a  great  saany  more  of  them  than  could  be  found  in  the 
E.  U.  church.  I  felt  uneasy,  as  being  in  a  position  to  mis 
represent  myself.  Although  I  had  the  strongest  affection 
for  those  brethren,  so  far  as  I  became  acquainted  with  them  : 
yet  I  felt  that  in  confining  my  labors  to  that  denomination  I 
was  greatly  restricting  my  own  usefulness.  We  therefore 
left  Aberdeen  and  went  by  rail  to  Bolton,  where  we  arrived 
on  Christmas  Eve.  1859. 

Bolton  is  a  city  of  about  thirty  thousand  inhabitants 
lying  a  few  miles  from  Manchester.  It  is  in  the  heart 
of  the  great  manufacturing  district  of  England.  It  lies 
within  the  circle  of  that  immense  population,  that  spreads 
itself  out  from  Manchester,  as  a  centre,  in  every  direction. 
It  is  estimated  that  at  least  three  millions  of  people  live 
within  a  compass  of  sixty  miles  around  about  Manchester. 

In  this  place  th«  work  of  the  Lord  commenced  immedi 


LABORS    IN   ENGLAND.  * 

ately.  We  were  received  as  guests  by  Mr.  J B . 

He  belonged  to  the  Methodist  denomination  ;  was  a  man  of 
sterling  piety,  very  unsectarian  in  his  views  and  feelings. 
The  next  evening  after  we  arrived,  he  invited  in  a  few 
tnends  for  religious  conversation  and  prayer ;  and  among 
them  a  lady,  who  had  been  for  some  time  in  an  inquiring 
state  of  mind.  Aftei  ^6  had  had  a  little  conversation  we 
concluded  to  have  a  stcksou  of  prayer.  My  wife  knelt  near 
this  lady  of  whom  I  have  spoken,  and  during  prayer  she  ob 
served  that  she  was  uiucL  affected.  As  we  rose  from  our 
knees,  Mrs.  Finney  took  her  by  the  hand,  and  then  beck 
oned  to  me  across  the  room  to  come  and  speak  with  her. 
The  lady  had  been  brought  up,  as  I  afterwards  learned,  a 
Quakeress  ;  but  had  married  a  man  who  was  a  Methodist. 
She  had  been  for  a  long  time  uneasy  about  the  etate  of  her 
soul  ;  but  had  never  been  brought  face  to  fao  witii  the 
question  of  present,  instantaneous  submission. 

I  responded  to  the  call  of  my  wife,  and  went  across  the 
room  and  spoke  with  her.  I  saw  in  a  moment  that  her  dis 
tress  of  mind  was  profound.  I  therefore  asked  her  if  she 
would  see  me  a  little  time,  foi  personal  conversation.  She 
readily  complied,  and  we  crossed  the  hall  into  another  room  ; 
and  then  I  brought  her  face  to  face,  at  once,  with  the  question 
of  instant  submission,  and  acceptance  of  Christ.  I  asked  her 
if  she  would  then  and  there  renounce  herself,  and  everything 
else,  and  give  her  heart  to  Christ.  She  replied,  "  I  must  do 
it  sometime  ;  and  I  may  as  well  do  it  now. "  We  knelt  imme 
diately  down  ;  and  so  far  as  human  knowledge  can  go,  she  did 
truly  submit  to  God.  After  she  had  submitted  we  returned 
to  the  parlor  ;  and  the  scene  between  herself  and  her  bus- 
b-and  was  very  affecting.  As  soon  as  she  came  into  the  room 
he  saw  such  a  change  manifested  in  her  countenance,  that 
they  seemed  spontaneously  to  clasp  eacb  other  in  their  arms, 
and  knelt  down  before  the  Lord. 

We  were  scarcely  seated  before  the  son  of  Mr.  B 

came  into  the  parlor,  announcing  that  one  of  the  servants 


460  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   Q.    FINNEi. 

was  deeply  moved.  In  a  very  short  time  that  one  also  gava 
evidence  of  submission  to  Christ.  Then  I  learned  that 
another  was  weeping  in  the  kitchen,  and  went  immediately 
9o  her  ;  and  after  a  little  conversation  and  instruction,  sne 
ooo  appeared  to  give  her  heart  to  God.  Thus  the  woi* 

had  begun.     Mrs,  B herself  had  been  in  a  doubting  and 

discourage^  stgt&  of  mind  for  years  ;  and  she,  too,  appeared 
to  melt  down,  and  get  into  a  different  state  of  mind  almost 
immediately.  The  report  of  what  the  Lord  was  doing,  was 
soon  spread  abroad  ;  and  people  came  in  daily,  and  almos^ 
hourly,  for  conversation.  The  first  week  of  January  ha( 
been  appointed  to  be  observed  as  a  week  of  prayer,  as  it  has 
been  since  from  year  to  year ;  and  the  different  denomina 
tions  agreed  to  hold  Union  meetings  during  the  week. 

Our  first  meeting  was  in  the  chapel  occupied  by  Mr. 
Davison,  who  had  sent  for  me  to  come  to  Bolton.  He  was 
an  Independent,  what  we  in  this  country  call  a  Congregation- 
alist.  His  chapel  was  filled  the  first  night.  The  meeting 
was  opened  by  a  Methodist  minister,  who  prayed  with 
great  fervency,  and  with  a  liberty  that  plainly  indicated  to 
me  that  the  Spirit  of  God  was  upon  the  congregation,  and 
that  we  should  have  a  powerful  meeting.  I  was  invited  to 
follow  him  with  some  remarks.  I  did  so,  and  occupied  e 
little  space  in  speaking  upon  the  subject  of  prayer.  I  tried 
to  impress  upon  them  as  a  fact,  that  prayer  would  be  imme 
diately  answered,  if  they  took  the  gtumbling-blocks  out  of 
the  way,  and  offered  the  prayer  of  faith.  The  word  seemed 
to  thrill  through  the  hearts  of  Christians.  Indeed  I  have 
eldom  addressed  congregations  upon  any  subject  that  seemed 
o  produce  a  more  powerful  and  salutary  effect,  than  the 
abject  of  prayer.  I  find  it  so  everywhere  Praying  peo 
ple  are  immediately  stirred  up  by  it,  to  lay  hold  of  God  for  a 
blessing.  They  were  in  this  place.  That  was  a  powvrfuJ 
meeting. 

Through  the  whole  of  that  week  the  spirit  of  prayei 
«eemed  to  be  increasing,  and  our  meetings  had  greater  and 


LABORS   IN   ENGLAND.  461 

greater  power.  About  the  third  or  fourth  day  of  our  meet 
ings,  I  should  think,  it  fell  to  the  turn  of  a  Mr.  Best,  also  a 
Congregational  minister  at  Bolton,  to  have  the  meeting  in 
his  chapel.  There,  for  the  first  time,  I  called  for  inquirers. 
After  addressing  the  congregation  for  some  time,  in  a  strain 
calculated  to  lead  to  that  point,  I  called  for  inquirers,  and 
his  vestry  was  thronged  with  them.  We  had  an  impressive 
meeting  with  them  ;  and  many  of  them,  I  trust,  submitted 
to  God. 

There  was  a  temperance  hall  in  the  city,  which  would 
accommodate  more  people  than  any  of  the  chapels.  After 
this  week  of  prayer,  the  brethren  secured  the  hall  for  preunh- 
ing  ;  and  I  began  to  preach  there  twice  on  the  Sabbath,  tuad 
four  evenings  in  the  week.  Soon  the  interest  became  w* 
general.  The  hall  would  be  crowded  every  night,  so  iha^ 
not  another  person  could  get  so  much  as  within  the  door. 
The  Spirit  of  God  was  poured  out  copiously. 

I  then  recommended  to  the  brethren  to  canvass  the  whole 
city  ;  to  go  two  and  two,  and  visit  every  house  ;  and  if  per 
mitted,  to  pray  in  every  house  in  the  city.  They  immediately 
and  courageously  rallied  to  perform  this  work.  They  got 
great  numbers  of  bills,  and  tracts,  and  posters,  and  all  sorts 
of  invitations  printed,  and  began  the  work  of  canvassing. 
The  Congregationalists  and  Methodists  took  hold  of  the  work 
with  great  earnestness. 

The  Methodists  are  very  strong  in  Bolton,  and  always 
have  been  since  the  day  of  Wesley.  It  was  one  of  Wesley's 
favorite  fields  of  labor;  and  they  have  always  had  there  an  able 
ministry,  and  strong  churches.  Their  influence  was  far  in 
the  ascendancy  there,  over  all  other  religious  denominations. 
I  found  among  them  both  ministers  and  laymen,  who  were 
most  excellent  and  earnest  laborers  for  Christ.  But  the 
Congregationalists  too  entered  into  the  work,  with  great 
spirit  and  energy  ;  and,  while  I  remained  there,  at  least,  all 
sectarianism  seemed  to  be  buried.  They  gave  the  town  a 
thorough  canvassing  ;  and  the  canvassers  met  once  or  twice 


462  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G.    FINNEY. 

a  week  to  make  their  reports,  and  to  consider  farther 
arrangements  for  pushing  the  work.  It  was  very  commor, 
to  see  a  Methodist  and  a  Oongregationalist,  hand  in  hand, 
and  heart  in  heart,  going  from  house  to  house,  with  tracts, 
and  praying  wherever  they  were  permitted,  in  every  house, 
an:  warning  men  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come,  and  urging 
them  to  come  fc>  Christ. 

Of  course  in  such  a  state  of  things  as  this,  the  work 
would  spread  rapidly  among  the  unconverted.  All  classes 
of  persona,  >iigh  and  low,  rich  and  poor,  male  and  female, 
became  interested.  I  was  in  the  habit,  every  evening  I 
preached,  of  calling  upon  inquirers  to  come  forward  and 
take  seats  in  front  of  the  stand.  Great  numbers  would 
come  forward,  crowding  as  best  they  could  through  the 
dense  masses  that  filled  every  nook  and  corner  of  the 
house.  The  hall  was  not  only  laige  on  its  ground  floor,  but 
had  a  gallery,  which  was  always  thronged.  -Vfr-er  the 
inquirers  had  come  forward,  we  engaged  in  a  praye»  -meet 
ing,  having  several  prayers  in  succession  while  the  inquirers 
knelt  before  the  Lord. 

The  Methodist  brethren  were  very  much  engaged,  and 
for  some  time  were  quite  noisy  and  demonstrative  in  theii 
prayers,  when  sinners  came  forward.  For  some  time  I  said 
nothing  about  this,  lest  I  should  throw  them  off  and  lead 
them  to  grieve  the  Spirit.  I  saw  that  their  impression  was, 
that  the  greater  the  excitement,  the  more  rapidly  would  the 
work  go  forward.  They  therefore  would  pound  the 
benches,  pray  exceedingly  loud,  and  sometimes  more  thai, 
one  at  a  time.  I  was  aware  that  this  distracted  the  in 
quirers,  and  prevented  their  becoming  truly  converted  ;  and 
although  the  number  of  inquirers  was  great  and  constantly 
increasing,  yet  conversions  did  not  multiply  as  fast  as  I  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  seeing  them,  even  where  the  number  of 
inquirers  was  much  less. 

After  letting  things  pass  on  so  for  two  or  tnree  weeks, 
until  the  Methodist  brethren  had  become  acquainted  witfc 


LABORS   IN    ENGLAJNL*.  46& 

me,  and  I  with  them,  one  evening  upon  calling  the  in 
quirers  forward,  I  suggested  that  we  should  take  a  different 
course.  I  told  them  that  I  thought  the  inquirers  needed 
more  opportunity  to  think  than  they  had  when  there  was  sc 
much  noise  ;  that  they  needed  instruction,  and  needed  to 
be  led  by  one  voice  in  prayer,  and  that  there  should  not  be 
any  confusion,  or  anything  bordering  on  it,  if  we  expected 
them  to  listen  and  become  intelligently  converted.  1  asked 
them  if  they  would  not  try  for  a  short  time  to  follow  my 
advice  in  that  respect,  and  see  what  the  result  would  be. 
They  did  so  ;  and  at  first  I  could  see  that  they  were  a  little 
in  bondage  when  they  attempted  to  pray,  and  a  little  dis 
couraged,  because  it  so  crossed  their  ideas  of  what  constituted 
powerful  meetings.  However  they  soon  seemed  to  recover 
from  this,  because  I  think  they  were  convinced  that  although 
there  was  less  apparent  excitement  in  our  prayer-meet 
ings,  yet  there  were  many  more  converted  from  evening 
to  evening. 

The  fame  of  this  work  spread  abroad,  and  soon  persons 
began  to  come  in  large  number?  from  Manchester  to  Boltor 
to  attend  our  meetings  ;  and  this,  a&  was  always  the  case, 
created  a  considerable  excitement  in  that  city,  and  a  desire 
to  have  me  come  thither  as  soon  as  I  could.  However  I 
remained  in  Bolton  I  think  about  three  months,  perhaps 
more.  The  work  became  so  powerful  that  it  broke  in  upon 
all  classes,  and  every  description  of  persons. 

Brother  B had  an  extensive  cotton  mill  in  Bolton, 

and  employed  a  great  many  hands,  men  and  women.  I  went 
with  him  down  to  his  mill  once  or  twice,  and  held  meetings 
with  his  operatives.  The  first  time  we  went  we  had  a  pow 
erful  meeting.  I  remained  with  them  till  I  was  much 

fatigued,  and  then  returned  home,  leaving  Brother  B 

still  to  pray  with,  and  instruct  ^hem.  When  he  came  home 
he  reported  that  not  less  than  sixty  appeared  clearly  to  be 
converted  that  evening,  among  his  own  hand*.  These  meet 


*64  MEMOIRS    OF    CHARLES    G. 

ings  were  continued  till  nearly  all  his  hands  expressed  hope 
in  Christ. 

There  were  a  great  many  very  striking  cases  of  convic 
tion  and  conversion  at  the  time.  Although  I  kept  cool  my 
self,  and  endeavored  to  keep  the  people  in  an  attitude  in 
which  they  would  listen  to  instruction,  and  would  act 
understandingly  in  everything  they  did  ;  still  in  some  in 
stances,  persons  for  a  few  days  were  too  much  excited  for  the 
healthy  action  of  their  minds,  though  I  do  not  recollect  any 
case  of  real  insanity. 

One  night  as  I  was  standing  on  the  platform  and  preach 
ing,  a  man  in  the  congregation  rose  up  and  crowded  his  way 
up  to  the  platform,  and  said  to  the  congregation,  "  I  have 
committed  a  robbery."  He  began  to  make  a  confession, 
interrupting  me  as  I  was  preaching.  I  saw  that  he  was 
over  fixcited  ;  and  brother  Davison  who  sat  on  the  platform 
stepped  up  and  whispered  to  him,  said  took  him  down  into 
a  side-room  and  conversed  with  him.  He  found  tnat  he  had 
committed  a  crime  for  which  he  wa«j  liable  to  be  transported. 
He  gave  him  advice,  and  I  heard  no  more  of  it  that  evening. 
Afterwards  the  facts  came  more  fully  to  my  knowledge. 
But  in  a  few  days  the  man  obtained  a  hope. 

One  evening  I  preached  on  confession  and  restitution, 
and  it  created  a  most  tremendous  movement  among  business 
men.  One  man  told  me  the  next  day  that  he  had  been  and 
made  restitution,  I  think,  of  fifteen  hundred  pounds,  in  a 
case  where  he  thought  he  had  not  acted  upon  the  principle 
of  loving  his  neighbor  as  himself.  The  consciences  of  men 
under  such  circumstances  are  exceedingly  tender.  The  gen 
tloman  to  whom  I  have  just  referred,  told  me  that  a  dear 
friend  of  his  had  died  and  left  him  to  settle  his  estate.  He 
had  done  so,  and  simply  received  what  the  law  gave  him  for 
his  labor  and  expense.  But  he  said  that  in  hearing  that 
sermon,  it  occurred  to  him  that  as  a  friend  and  a  Christian 
brother,  he  could  better  afford  to  settle  that  estate  without 
charging  anything,  than  the  family  could  afford  to  allow  hiir 


LABORS   IN    ENGLAND,  465 

the  hg&l  fees.  The  Spirit  of  God  that  was  upon  him  led 
Kim  to  feel  it  so  keenly,  that  he  immediately  went  and 
refunded  the  money. 

There  was  a  case  in  Kochester,  in  New  York,  that  I  have 
forgotten  to  mention,  but  that  may  just  as  well  be  mentioned 
in  this  place,  of  the  same  kind.  An  extremely  tender  con- 
.^cience  led  a  man  to  see  and  feel  keenly  on  the  subject  of 
acting  on  the  principle  of  loving  our  neighbor  as  ourselves, 
and  doing  to  others  as  we  would  that  they  should  do  to  us. 
A  man  of  considerable  property  was  converted  in  one  of  the 
revivals  in  Rochester,  in  which  I  labored,  who  had  been 
transacting  some  business  for  a  widow  lady,  in  a  village  not 
far  distant  from  Rochester.  The  business  consisted  in  the 
transfer  of  some  real  estate,  for  which  he  had  been  paid  for 
his  services  some  fifteen  or  sixteen  hundred  dollars.  As 
soon  as  he  was  converted  he  thought  of  this  case  ;  and  upon 
reflection  he  thought  he  had  not  done  by  that  widow  lady  and 
those  fatherless  children,  as  he  would  wish  another  to  do  by 
his  widow  and  fatherless  children,  should  he  die.  He  there 
fore  went  over  to  see  her,  and  stated  to  her  his  view  of  the 
subject  as  it  lay  before  his  mind.  She  replied  that  she  did 
not  see  it  in  that  light  at  all ;  that  she  had  considered  her 
self  very  much  obliged  to  him  indeed,  that  he  had  transacted 
her  business  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  for  her  all  she  could 
ask  or  expect.  She  declined,  therefore,  to  receive  the  money 
which  he  offered  to  refund. 

After  thinking  of  it  a  little  he  told  her  that  he  was  dis 
satisfied,  and  wished  that  she  would  call  in  some  of  her  most 
trustworthy  neighbors,  and  they  would  state  the  question  to 
them.  She  did  so,  called  in  some  Christian  friends,  men  of 
business  ;  and  they  laid  the  whole  matter  before  them.  They 
said  that  the  affair  was  a  business  transaction,  and  it  was 
evident  that  he  had  transacted  the  business  to  the  acceptance 
of  the  family  and  to  their  advantage  ;  and  they  saw  no  rea 
son  why  he  should  refund  the  money.  He  heard  what  they 
had  to  say  ;  but  before  he  left  the  town  he  called  on  the 
$0* 


466  MEMOIRS   OF    CHARLES    G. 

again  and  said,  "  My  mind  is  not  at  ease.  If  I  should  die 
and  leave  my  wife  a  widow  and  children  fatherless,  and  a 
friend  of  mine  should  transact  such  a  piece  of  business  for 
them,  I  should  feel  as  if  he  might  do  it  gratuitously,  inas 
much  as  it  was  for  a  widow  and  fatherless  children."  Said  he, 
"  I  cannot  take  any  other  view  of  it  than  this."  Whereupon 
he  laid  the  money  upon  her  table,  and  left. 

Another  ease  occurs  to  me  now,  which  illustrates  the 
manner  in  which  the  Spirit  of  God  will  work  in  the  minds 
of  men,  when  their  hearts  are  open  to  his  influence.  In 
preaching  in  one  of  the  large  cities  on  a  certain  occasion, 
I  was  dwelling  upon  the  dishonesties  of  business,  and  the 
over-reaching  plans  of  men  ;  and  how  they  justify  them 
selves  in  violations  of  the  golden  rule.  Before  I  was  through 
with  my  discourse,  a  gentleman  arose  in  the  middle  of  the 
house  and  asked  me  if  he  might  propose  a  question.  He 
then  supposed  a  case  ;  and  after  he  had  stated  it,  asked  me 
if  that  case  would  come  under  the  rule  that  I  had  propounded, 
I  said,  "Yes,  I  think  that  it  clearly  would."  He  sat  down 
and  said  no  more  ;  but  I  afterwards  learned  that  he  went 
away  and  made  restitution  to  the  amount  of  thirty  thousand 
dollars.  I  could  relate  great  numbers  of  instances  in  which 
persons  have  been  led  to  act  in  the  same  manner,  under  the 
powerfully  searching  influences  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 

But  to  return  from  this  digression  ;  the  work  went  on 
and  spread  in  Bolton  until  one  of  the  ministers  who  had  been 
engaged  in  directing  the  movement  of  canvassing  the  town, 
said  publicly  that  they  found  that  the  revival  had  reached 
every  family  in  the  city  ;  and  that  every  family  had  betr 
visited. 

If  we  had  had  any  place  of  worship  large  enough,  we 
should  probably  have  had  ten  thousand  persons  in  the  con 
gregations  from  evening  to  evening.  All  we  could  do  was 
to  fill  the  hall  as  full  as  it  could  be  crowded,  and  then  use 
such  other  means  as  we  could  to  reach  the  multitudes  in 
other  places  of  worship 


LABORS   IN    ENGLAND.  467 

I  recollect  a  striking  case  of  conversion  among  the  great 
mill-owners  there.  I  had  been  told  of  one  of  them  that  was 
a  very  miserly  man.  He  had  a  great  thirst  for  riches, 
and  had  been  spoken  of  as  being  a  very  hopeless  case.  The 
revival  had  reached  a  large  number  of  that  class  of  men  ; 
bat  this  man  had  seemed  to  stand  out,  and  his  worldly- 
jiindedness  and  nis  miserly  spirit  had  seemed  to  eat  him  up. 
But  contrary  to  my  expectations,  and  to  the  expectations  of 
others,  he  in  his  turn  called  on  me.  I  invited  him  to  my 
room  and  had  a  very  serious  conversation  with  him.  He 
acknowledged  to  me  that  he  had  been  a  great  miser ;  and 
that  he  had  once  said  to  God,  that  if  he  would  give  him 
another  hundred  thousand  pounds,  he  would  be  willing  to 
be  eternally  damned.  I  was  very  much  shocked  at  this  ; 
but  could  see  clearly  that  he  was  terribly  convicted  of  the 
sinfulness  of  that  state  of  mind. 

I  then  repeated  to  him  a  part  of  the  sixth  chapter  01 
Matthew,  where  Christ  warns  men  against  laying  up  treasure 
on  earth,  and  recommends  them  to  lay  up  treasure  in  heaven. 
I  finally  came  to  that  verse  :  "  But  seek  first  the  kingdom  of 
God  and  his  righteousness,  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added 
unto  you."  He  leaned  toward  me,  and  appeared  to  be  as 
much  interested  as  if  it  were  all  new  to  him.  When  I 
repeated  to  him  this  verse,  he  sa; ,  to  me,  with  the  utmost 
earnestness,  "Do  you  believe  th»i,  ?"  I  said,  "Be  sure  I 
believe  it  It  is  the  word  of  God,"  "  Well  then/'  said  he, 
"  Fll  go  it ; "  and  sprang  upon  his  feet  in  the  utmost  excite 
ment.  "If  that  is  true,"  said  he,  "I  will  give  up  all  to 
Christ  at  once."  We  knelt  immediately  down,  and  I  pre- 
»ented  his  case  to  God  in  prayer  ;  and  he  seemed  to  break 
down  like  a  child.  From  that  time  he  appeared  to  be  a  very 
different  man.  His  miserly  feelings  all  seemed  to  melt 
away.  He  took  hold  of  that  work  like  a  man  in  earnest, 
and  went  and  hired,  at  his  own  cost,  a  city  missionary,  and 
set  him  to  work  to  wm  souls  to  Christ. 

At  this  place,  also,  Mrs.  Pinnev's  meetings  were 


468  MEMOIRS   OF   CHARLES   G.    FINNEY. 

largely  attended.  She  held  them,  as  she  always  did,  in  the» 
daytime  ;  and  sometimes  I  was  informed  that  at  her  meeting 
of  ladies,  Temperance  Hall  would  be  nearly  fulL  The 
Christian  ladies  of  different  denominations  took  hold  with 
her  and  encouraged  her ;  and  great  good,  I  trust,  was  done 
through  the  instrumentality  of  those  ladies'  meetings. 

My  wife  and  myself  were  both  of  us  a  good  deal  exhausted 
oy  these  labors.  But  in  April  we  went  to  Manchester.  IE 
Manchester  the  Congregational  interest,  as  I  was  informed, 
rather  predominates  over  that  of  other  denominations.  Ag 
is  well-known,  the  manufacturing  districts  have  a  stronger 
democratic  element  than  other  parts  of  England.  Congre 
gationalism,  therefore,  is  more  prevalent  in  Manchester  than 
in  any  other  city  that  I  visited.  I  had  not  been  long  there, 
however,  before  I  saw  that  there  was  a  great  lack  of  mutual 
confidence  among  the  brethren.  I  could  see  that  there  wag 
A  jar  among  the  leaders ;  and  frequently,  to  my  grief,  J 
beard  expressions  that  indicated  a  want  of  real  heart-union 
in  the  work.  This  I  was  soon  convinced  was  a  great  diffi 
culty  to  be  overcome  ;  and  that  if  it  could  not  be  overcome, 
the  work  could  never  be  as  general  there  as  it  had  been  in 
Bolton.  There  soon  was  manifest  a  dissatisfaction  with 
some  of  the  men  who  had  been  selected  to  engineer  the  work, 
and  provide  for  carrying  on  the  general  movement. 

This  grieved  the  Spirit  and  crippled  the  work.  And 
although  from  the  very  first  the  Spirit  of  God  attended  the 
word  ;  yet  the  work  never  so  thoroughly  overcame  the  secta 
rian  feeling  and  disagreements  of  the  brethren  generally,  that 
it  could  spread  over  the  city  in  the  way  it  had  done  at  Bolton. 
WTien  I  went  to  that  city  I  expected  that  the  Methodist  and 
Congregational  brethren  would  work  harmoniously  together, 
as  they  had  at  Bolton  ;  but  in  this  I  found  myself  mistaken. 
Not  only  was  there  a  want  of  cordiality  and  sympathy 
between  the  Methodists  and  Congregationalists  ;  but  also  a 
great  lack  of  confidence  and  sympathy  among  the  Congrega- 
tionahsts  themselves.  However,  our  meetings  were  ver 


LABORS    IN    ENGLAND  46? 

interesting,  and  great  numbers  of  inquirers  were  found  on 
every  side ;  and  whenever  a  meeting  was  appointed  foi 
inquirers,  large  numbers  would  attend.  Still  what  I  longed 
to  see  was  a  general  overflowing  of  the  Spirit's  influences  in 
Manchester,  as  we  had  witnessed  in  Bolton.  The  difficulty 
was,  there  was  not  a  good  spirit  manifested  at  that  time,  by 
fche  leading  men  in  the  movement.  I  did  not  learn  the 
cause — perhaps  it  was  something  in  myself.  But  although 
I  am  sure  that  large  numbers  of  persons  were  converted,  for 
[  saw  and  conversed  with  a  great  number  myself  that  were 
powerfully  convicted,  and  to  all  appearance  converted ;  yet 
the  barriers  did  not  break  down  so  as  to  give  the  word  of  the 
Lord,  and  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  free  course  among  the 
people. 

When  we  came  away,  a  meeting  was  called  for  those  who 
bad  been  particularly  blessed  during  those  meetings  $  and 
the  number  in  attendance  was,  I  believe,  very  much  larger 
than  was  expected  by  the  ministers  themselves.  I  am  confi 
dent  that  they  were  surprised  at  the  numbers  present,  and 
at  the  spirit  of  the  meeting.  Indeed  I  do  not  think  that 
any  of  the  ministers  there  were  aware  of  the  extent  of  the 
work,  for  they  did  not  generally  attend  our  meetings.  They 
lid  not  follow  them  from  place  to  place,  and  were  seldom 
seen  in  the  meetings  of  inquiry.  We  continued  in  Man 
chester  till  about  the  first  of  August ;  and  the  revival 
continued  to  increase  and  spread  up  to  that  time. 

But  the  strength  of  both  myself  and  my  wife  had  become 
exhausted,  and  some  of  the  leading  brethren  proposed  to  us 
to  suspend  our  labors,  and  go  down  into  Wales  and  rest  a 
few  weeks,  and  then  return  to  Manchester  and  resume  our 
labors.  What  they  proposed  was,  to  secure  a  large  hall,  and 
thus  to  go  on  with  our  meetings  in  an  independent  way. 
They  thought,  and  I  thought  myself,  that  we  should  secure 
a  greater  amount  of  good  in  that  way  than  by  laboring  with 
an)  particular  congregation.  Denominational  lines  are 
much  more  strongly  marked  in  that  country  than  they  are 


470  MEMOIRS    OF   CHARLES   G.    PUTNEY, 

in  this.  It  is  very  difficult  to  get  people  of  tlie  church  oi 
England  to  attend  a  dissenting  place  of  worship.  The 
Methodists  will  not  generally  and  freely  attend  worship  with 
other  denominations.  Indeed,  the  same  is  true  of  all  de 
nominations  in  England,  and  in  Scotland.  Sectarian  lines 
are  much  more  distinctly  drawn,  and  the  members  of  the 
different  churches  keep  more  closely  within  their  lines,  than 
in  this  country.  I  am  persuaded  that  the  true  way  to  labor 
for  a  revival  movement  there,  is  to  have  no  particular  con 
nection  with  any  distinct  denomination  ;  but  to  preach  the 
true  gospel,  and  make  a  stand  in  halls,  or  even  in  streets, 
when  the  weather  is  favorable,  where  no  denominational  feel 
ings  and  peculiarities  can  straiten  the  influences  of  the 
Spirit  of  God. 

On  the  second  of  August,  I860,  we  left  Manchester  and 
went  down  to  Liverpool.  A  goodly  number  of  our  frienda 
went  down  with  us,  and  remained  over  night.  On  the 
morning  of  the  third,  we  left  in  th«*  Persia  for  New  York. 
We  found  that  large  numbers  of  our  friends  had  assembled 
from  different  parts  of  England,  to  bid  us  good-bye.  We 
took  an  affectionate  and  an  affecting  leave  of  them,  and  the 
glorious  old  steamer  rushed  out  to  *©a,  and  we  were  on  on? 
way  home. 


CHAPTER  XXXVl 

WORK   AT   HOME. 

TTT"E  had  had  very  little  rest  in  England  for  a  year  and 
V  V  a  half  ;  and  those  who  are  used  to  sea  voyages  will 
not  wonder  that  I  did  not  rest  much  during  our  voyage 
home.  Indeed  we  arrived  a  good  deal  exhausted.  I  was 
myself  hardly  able  to  preach  at  all.  However  the  state  of 
things  was  such,  and  the  time  of  year  such,  that  I  could  not, 
as  I  supposed,  afford  to  rest.  There  were  many  aew  stu 
dents  here,  and  strangers  had  been  moving  into  the  place 
so  that  there  was  a  large  number  of  impenitent  persons 
residing  here  at  that  time.  The  brethren  were  of  opinion 
that  an  effort  must  be  made  immediately  to  revive  religion 
in  the  churches,  and  to  secure  the  conversion  of  the  uncon 
verted  students.  During  my  absence  in  England  the  con 
gregation  had  become  so  large  that  the  house  could  not, 
with  any  comfort,  contain  them  ;  and  after  considering  the 
matter,  the  church  concluded  to  divide  and  form  a  second 
Congregational  church.  They  did  so ;  the  new  church 
worshipping  in  the  College  chapel,  and  the  First  church 
continuing  to  occupy  their  usual  place  of  worship.  The 
Second  church  invited  me  to  preach  a  part  of  the  time  to 
them,  in  the  College  chapel.  3ut  that  would  hold  scarcely 
more  than  half  as  many  as  the  church  ;  and  I  could  not 
think  it  my  duty  to  divide  my  labors,  and  preach  part  of 
the  time  to  one  congregation  and  part  of  the  time  to  the 
other  ;  and  therefore  took  measures  immediately  to  secure  a 
revival  of  religion,  holding  our  meetings  at  the  large  church. 
The  Second  church  people  came  in,  and  labored  as  best  they 
could  ;  but  the  preaching  devolved  almost  altogether  upoi) 
myself. 


472  MEMOIRS    OF   CHARLES   G. 

We  held  daily  prayer-meetings  in  the  church,  which 
«rere  largely  attended.  The  body  of  the  church  would 
generally  he  full.  At  these  meetings  I  labored  hard,  te 
secure  the  legitimate  results  of  a  prayer-meeting  judiciously 
managed.  Besides  preaching  twice  on  Sabbath,  and  hold 
ing  a  meeting  of  inquiry  in  the  evening  of  every  Sabbath,  I 
preached  several  evenings  during  the  week.  In  addition  tc 
these  labors  I  was  obliged  to  use  up  my  strength  in  convers 
ing  with  inquirers,  who  were  almost  constantly  visiting  me 
when  I  was  out  of  meeting.  These  labors  increased  in 
intensity  and  pressure,  from  week  to  week.  The  revival 
became  very  general  throughout  the  place,  and  seemed  to 
bid  fair  to  make  a  clean  sweep  of  the  unconverted  in  the 
olace.  But  after  continuing  these  labors  for  four  months, 
until  I  had  very  little  rest  day  or  night,  I  came  home  one 
Sabbath  afternoon,  from  one  of  the  most  powerful  and 
interesting  meetings  I  ever  witnessed,  and  was  taken  with  a 
levere  chill ;  and  from  that  time  I  was  confined  to  my  bed 
between  two  and  three  months. 

It  was  found  in  this  case,  as  it  always  has  been  so  far  as 
my  experience  has  gone,  that  the  change  of  preaching  soon 
let  down  the  tone  of  the  revival ;  and  not  suddenly,  but 
gradually  it  ceased.  There  was  not,  that  I  am  aware  of,  any 
reaction.  But  the  conversions  grew  less  frequent,  and  from 
week  to  week,  the  week-day  meetings  gradually  fell  off  in  their 
attendance  ;  so  that  by  the  time  I  was  able  to  preach  again, 
I  found  the  state  of  religion  interesting,  but  not  what  we 
here  call  a  revival  of  religion.  However,  the  next  summer, 
as  has  been  almost  universally  the  case,  a  goodly  number  of 
our  students  were  converted,  and  there  was  a  very  interesting 
state  of  religion  during  the  season. 

During  the  summer  months  there  is  a  great  pressure  upon 
the  people  here.  The  students  are  engaged  in  preparing  foi 
the  anniversaries  of  their  various  college  societies,  for  their 
examinations,  and  for  commencement ;  and  of  (.  ^nrse  during 
the  summer  term  there  is  a  great  deal  of  excitement 


WORK   AT   HOME.  473 

vorable  to  the  progress  of  a  revival  of  religion.  We  have 
much  more  of  this  excitement  in  later  years  than  we  had 
when  we  first  commenced  here.  College  societies  have 
increased  in  number,  and  the  class  exhibitions  and  other 
interesting  occasions  have  been  multiplied  ;  so  that  it  has 
become  more  and  more  difficult  to  secure  a  powerful  revival 
during  the  summer  term.  This  ought  not  to  be. 

Before  I  went  to  England  the  last  time,  I  saw  that  an 
impression  seemed  to  be  growing  in  Oberlin,  that  during 
term  time  we  could  not  expect  to  have  a  revival  ;  and  that 
our  revivals  must  be  expected  to  occur  during  the  long  va 
cations  in  the  winter.  This  was  not  deliberately  avowed  by 
any  one  ;  and  yet  it  was  plain  that  that  was  coming  to  be 
the  impression.  But  I  had  come  to  Oberlin,  and  resided 
here,  for  the  sake  of  the  students,  to  secure  their  con 
version  and  sanctitication  ;  and  it  was  only  because  there  was 
BO  great  a  number  of  them  here,  which  gave  me  so  good  an 
opportunity  to  work  upon  so  many  young  minds  in  the  pro 
cess  of  education,  that  I  had  rema^ad  here  from  year  to 
year.  I  had,  frequently,  almost  made  up  my  mind  to  leave, 
and  give  myself  wholly  to  the  work  of  an  evangelist.  But  the 
plea  always  used  with  me  had  been,  that  we  could  not  do  so 
much  in  this  country  in  promoting  revivals  anywhere,  except 
at  that  season  of  the  year  when  we  have  our  long  vacation  ; 
furthermore,  that  my  health  would  not  enable  me  to  sustain 
revival  labor  the  year  round ;  and  that,  therefore,  I  could 
do  more  good  here  during  the  term  time — that  is,  in  the 
spring,  summer,  and  early  autumn — than  I  could  anywhere 
else.  This  I  myself  believed  to  be  true  ;  and  therefore  had 
continued  to  labor  here  during  term  time,  for  many  years 
after  my  heart  strongly  urged  me  to  give  up  my  whole  time 
in  laboring  as  ap  evangelist. 

While  I  was  *«*st  in  England,  and  was  receiving  urgent 
letters  to  return,  I  spoke  of  the  impression  to  which  I  have 
alluded,  that  we  could  not  expect  revivals  in  term  time  ;  and 
said,  that  if  that  was  going  to  be  the  prevalent  idea,  it  waa 


474  MEMOIRS  OP  CHARLES  G.    FENNEL. 

not  the  place  for  me  ;  for  during  our  long  vacatirn  our  stu 
dents  were  gone,  of  course,  and  it  was  for  their  salvation 
principally  that  I  remained.  I  had  been  greatly  afflicted 
too,  by  finding,  when  an  effort  was  made  to  secure  the  con 
version  of  the  students  during  term  time,  that  the  first  I 
ffould  know  some  excursion  would  be  planned,  some  amuse 
ment  or  entertainment  that  would  counteract  all  that  we 
could  do  to  secure  the  conversion  of  the  students.  I  never 
supposed  that  that  was  the  design  ;  but  such  was  the  result, 
insomuch  that  previous  to  going  to  England  the  last  time, 
I  had  become  almost  discouraged  in  making  efforts  to  secure 
revivals  of  religion  during  term  time.  In  my  replies  to 
letters  received  while  I  was  in  England,  I  was  very  free 
and  full  upon  this  point,  in  saying  that,  unless  there 
could  be  a  change,  Oberlin  was  not  my  field  of  labor  any 
longer. 

Our  fall  term  is  properly  our  harvest  here.  It  begins 
about  the  first  of  September,  when  we  have  a  large  number 
of  new  students,  and  many  of  these  unconverted  ones.  I 
have  always  felt,  as  a  good  many  others  have,  and  I  believe 
the  faculty  generally,  that  during  that  term  was  the  time 
to  secure  the  conversion  of  our  new  students.  This  was 
secured  to  a  very  great  extent,  the  year  that  we  returned. 
The  idea  that  during  term  time  we  could  not  expect  a  revi 
val  of  religion,  seemed  to  be  exploded,  the  people  took  hold 
of  the  work  and  we  had  a  powerful  revival. 

Since  then  we  have  been  muuh  less  hindered  in  our  revi 
val  efforts  in  term  time,  by  counteracting  influences,  than  we 
had  been  for  a  few  years  before.  Our  revival  efforts  have 
taken  effect  among  the  students  from  year  to  year,  because 
they  were  aimed  to  secure  the  conversion  especially  of  the 
students.  Our  general  population  is  a  changing  one,  and 
we  very  frequently  need  a  sweeping  revival  through  the 
whole  town,  among  the  house-holders  as  well  as  the  stu 
dents,  to  keep  up  a  healthy  tone  of  piety.  A  goodly  num« 


WORK    AT   HOME.  475 

ber  of  our  students  learn  to  work  themselves  in  promoting 
revivals,  ar  1  are  very  efficient  in  laboring  for  the  conversion 
of  their  fellow-students.  The  young  men's  prayer-meeting? 
have  been  greatly  blessed.  The  young  people's  meetings, 
where  all  meet  for  a  general  prayer-meeting,  have  also 
been  blessed.  The  efforts  of  brethren  and  sisters  in  tht* 
church,  have  been  increasingly  blessed  from  year  to  year. 
We  have  had  more  or  less  of  a  revival  continually,  summer 
and  winter. 

Since  1860,  although  continually  pressed  by  churches, 
East  and  West,  to  come  and  labor  as  an  evangelist,  I  have  not 
lared  to  comply  with  their  request.  I  have  been  able,  by 
she  blessing  of  God,  to  perform  a  good  deal  of  labor  here  ; 
but  I  have  felt  inadequate  to  the  exposure  and  labor  of 
attempting  to  secure  revivals  abroad. 

Last  winter,  1866  and  '67,  the  revival  was  more  powerful 
among  the  inhabitants  than  it  had  been  since  1860.  How 
ever,  as  heretofore,  I  broke  down  in  the  midst,  and  was  una 
ble  to  attend  any  more  meetings.  The  brethren,  however, 
went  forward  with  the  work,  and  it  continued  with  great 
interest  until  spring.  Thus  I  have  brought  my  revival 
narrative  down  to  this  time,  the  13th  of  January,  1868. 
Yesterday,  Sabbath,  we  had  a  very  solemn  day  in  the  First 
church.  I  preached  all  day  upon  resisting  the  Holy  Ghost. 
At  the  close  of  the  afternoon  service  I  called  first,  upon  al] 
professors  of  religion  who  were  willing  to  commit  themselves 
against  all  resistance  offered  to  the  teachings  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  to  rise  up  and  unite  with  us  in  prayer,  under  the 
solemnity  of  this  promise.  Nearly  all  the  professors  of 
religion  rose  up  without  hesitation.  I  then  called  upon 
those  that  were  not  converted  to  rise  up,  and  take  the  same 
stand.  I  had  been  endeavoring  to  show  that  they  were  stiff- 
necked  and  uiicircumcised  in  heart  and  ears,  and  had  always 
resisted  the  Holy  Ghost.  I  asked  those  of  them  who  were 
willing  to  pledge  themselves  to  do  this  no  more,  and  to 
accept  the  teachings  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  give  themselves 


476  MEMOIRS  OJ?  CHARLES   G.    FINNEY. 

to  Christ,  also  to  rise  up,  and  we  would  make  them  subjecti 
of  prayer.  So  far  as  I  could  see  from  the  pulpit,  nearly 
every  person  in  the  house  stood  up  under  these  calls.  We 
then  had  a  very  solemn  season  of  prayer,  and  dismissed  the 
meeting. 


CONCLUSION. 

fTlHOSE  who  have  read  the  preceding  pages,  will  naturally 
~L  inquire  in  reference  to  the  closing  years  of  a  life  so  full 
of  labor  and  of  usefulness.  The  narrative,  completed  with 
the  beginning  of  1868,  leaves  Mr.  Finney  still  pastor  of  the 
First  church  in  Oberlin,  and  lecturer  in  the  seminary.  The 
responsibilities  of  pastor  he  continued  to  sustain,  with  the 
tielp  of  his  associate,  some  four  or  five  years  longer,  preach 
ing,  as  his  health  would  admit,  usually  once  each  Sabbath. 
At  the  same  time,  as  professor  of  Pastoral  Theology,  he 
gave  a  course  of  lectures  each  summer  term,  on  the  pastoral 
work,  on  Christian  experience,  or  on  revivals.  He  resigned 
the  pastorate  in  1872,  but  still  r^mW^  ^*  Connection  with 
the  seminary,  and  completed  ins  iasi  ouuiio  of  lectures  in 
July  1875,  only  a  few  days  before  his  death.  He  preached, 
from  time  to  time,  as  his  strength  permitted  ;  and  during 
the  last  month  of  his  life,  he  preached  one  Sabbath  morning 
in  the  First  church,  and  another  in  the  Second. 

Notwithstanding  the  abundant  and  exhausting  labors  of 
his  long  public  life,  the  burden  of  years  seemed  to  rest 
lightly  upon  him.  He  still  stood  erect,  as  a  young  man, 
retained  his  faculties  to  a  remarkable  degree,  and  exhibited 
to  the  end  the  quickness  of  thought,  and  feeling,  and  im 
agination,  which  always  characterized  him.  His  life  and 
character  perhaps  never  seemed  richer  in  the  fruits  and  the 
beauty  of  goodness,  than  in  these  closing  years  and  months. 
His  Dublic  labors  were  of  course  very  limited,  but  the 


477 

power  of  his  life  was  felt  as  a  benediction  upon  the  commu 
nity,  which,  during  forty  years,  he  had  done  so  much  tc 
guide  and  mold  and  bless. 

His  last  day  on  earth  was  a  quiet  Sabbath,  which  he 
enjoyed  in  the  midst  of  his  family,  walking  out  with  hia 
wife  at  sunset,  to  listen  to  the  music,  at  the  opening  of  the 
evening  service  in  the  church  near  by.  Upon  retiring  he 
was  seized  with  pains  which  seemed  to  indicate  some  affec 
tion  of  the  heart ;  and  after  a  few  hours  of  suffering,  as  the 
morning  dawned,  he  died,  August  10th,  1875,  lacking  two 
weeks  of  having  completed  his  eighty-third  year. 

The  foregoing  narrative  gives  him  chiefly  in  one  line  of 
nis  work,  and  one  view  of  his  character.  It  presents  him 
in  the  ruling  purpose,  and  even  passion  of  his  life,  as  an 
evangelist,  a  preacher  of  righteousness.  His  work  as  a 
theologian,  a  leader  of  thought,  in  the  development  and 
expression  of  a  true  Christian  philosophy,  and  as  an  instruc 
tor,  in  quickening  and  forming  the  thought  of  others,  has 
been  less  conspicuous,  and  in  his  own  view  doubtless  entirely 
subordinate  ;  but  in  the  view  of  many,  scarcely  less  fruitful 
of  good  to  the  church  and  the  world.  To  set  forth  the 
results  of  his  life  in  these  respects,  would  require  another 
volume,  which  will  probably  never  be  written  ;  but  othei 
generations  will  reap  the  benefits,  without  knowing  the 
source  whence  they  have  sprung. 


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